


One and Only

by Thundersnow (pieprincess_andthe_fallenangel)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, ColdFlash Big Bang 2020, Episode: s01e10 Revenge of the Rogues, Fluff, Humour, Identity Porn, Joe disapproves of Len, M/M, Protective Joe West, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 50,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27787252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pieprincess_andthe_fallenangel/pseuds/Thundersnow
Summary: Set during and after ‘Revenge of the Rogues’.Following his and Mick’s public loss against the Flash, Len finds his soulmate in the most unlikely of people: unassuming CSI, Barry Allen. All Len wants to do now is get to know his soulmate, whereas all Barry wants is a stiff drink… if only it would work on him. Navigating their new relationship can be difficult at times – especially with the secret of Barry’s identity hanging over their heads – but they’re determined to make it work.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart
Comments: 164
Kudos: 407
Collections: Coldflash Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rayllin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rayllin/gifts).



> Happy Coldflash Bang week!  
> My partner for this project was the amazing [Hawkstincan!](https://hawkstincan.tumblr.com/) Go check them out on tumblr :D

Everything was going to plan.

Mick disagreed, of course, as they were both currently handcuffed in the back of a cop car… But Mick didn’t know what Len was up to:

Tonight, drawing the Flash out live on TV, had never been about killing him. Hell, if Len wanted to kill the scarlet speedster, he would have sent his ransom video of Doctor Snow to STAR Labs rather than broadcast it on the News for all of Central to see. If Len had wanted to kill the Flash, then he would have made sure their fight wasn’t surrounded by 30-odd armed police and overlooked by several helicopters.

Len had known he would be caught tonight, but that didn’t matter, not with Lisa waiting on the side-lines to break them out.

What _did_ matter was that the world knew that the Flash was real. This changed things, and now Len had other ways that he could win this game.

Mick didn’t know any of this yet, though, and Len knew that he’d get an earful about keeping secrets once they had broken out again. But what could Len say? He liked to keep things close to his chest. It was just easier that way.

The cruiser pulled up outside of a police precinct, and they shared a quick look. Mick nodded, silently telling Len that he knew what to do. See, there was a reason why the cops thought Mick was nothing more than a lump of muscle, and it wasn’t just because of his size. Len and Mick had a routine to play whenever they were arrested, and they played it well. Mick’s role was to turn up the heat, so to speak. He was naturally a hothead, and so he slipped into it easily, shouting and struggling to get away from cops. He’d even throw a few punches if he could manage to get his hands free.

But it was all a show. Mick’s brute act drew the eyes of everyone in the precinct, and so no one saw how Len studied his surroundings. It brought Len some time to assess all the exits, how many cops were milling about, which criminals were looking for trouble, those kinds of things.

But today, Len’s attention was caught on something else entirely. A young man was standing in the bullpen, only a few feet away. He was tall, brunette, a little on the skinny side for Len’s usual taste in men but still definitely attractive. If he’d seen this guy in a bar, then he might have bought him a drink… but in his current situation, he tried not to get distracted by pretty faces.

But it wasn’t the man’s _face_ which drew Len’s attention. The guy was currently watching Mick, his hand raised to scratch at the back of his own neck in a way which lifted the shirt just high enough to expose the pale skin on his hipbone. There was a soulmark there, though it was half-hidden from Len’s view by the man’s clothing. What Len could see of it, though, was very distracting. As far as soulmarks went, this one was relatively large and made of fine black lines looping and twisting around each other to form several sharper points, glowing dark against the man’s pale skin.

Once Len spotted the mark, he couldn’t take his eyes off of it, his mouth going dry and his heart racing in his chest as his mind’s eye filled in the blank for what the rest of the soulmark would look like. Of how the lines would create the six points of a star, or perhaps they were the petals of a flower, or – and this was Len’s favourite interpretation – the arms of a snowflake. He knew that the soulmark would be completely symmetrical if it was split centrally, and he vividly remembered Lisa telling him once that symmetrical soulmarks meant that the mates were mirror opposites of each other. Len supposed then that he should have guessed his soulmate would be a cop.

Because the mark on this man’s hip was seemingly identical to the mark that rested on _Len’s_ hip.

Eventually, Mick calmed down, and the man in front of them lowered his arm back to his side, the soulmark disappearing completely from Len’s view. He lifted his gaze then to instead look the young man in the eyes. He realised that his mouth was hanging open a little in shock and so he snapped it closed quickly.

“Your partner’s a real hothead,” Detective West muttered, but Len didn’t pay him any attention, he was too busy studying the face of the young man in front of him. Was this guy _really_ Len’s soulmate? He hadn’t gotten a good look at the whole mark, maybe there were some slight variations. It would be rare for someone to have such a similar soulmark in the exact same shade and place as Len’s was… but surely that would be more likely than Len being bonded to this baby-faced _puppy_ in front of him.

He only realised he’d stopped walking and was staring once the younger man’s eyes started to go big and round. He looked nervous. Len was just about to muster up a smirk and some smooth line when Joe West stepped protectively in between them. The detective’s face was hard and angry as he blocked Len’s view.

“Enjoy Iron Heights,” he said in the way of dismissal, and the cop who had been leading Len into the precinct gave him a push to force him to start moving again. Len did without any further prompting, but he couldn’t help sending one last glance back at the man standing next to West before Len walked through a door which was slammed closed between them.

And then he started to feel something akin to panic settle in his stomach.

He had thought that when – if – he met his soulmate, he wouldn’t care less about it or them. But he supposed no one ever truly knew how they’d react until they’d actually met _the one_. Len didn’t know his soulmate’s name. He hadn’t had a chance to say hi. He didn’t even 100% know that this kid _was_ his soulmate… but he wanted to find out.

Len took in his surroundings as he was locked into a cell. The cops had done the wise thing and separated him and Mick into different holding cells, which Len might have been annoyed about if today was any other regular day. But it wasn’t, so he was just thankful for the peace and quiet to let himself think.

He felt like pacing his cell, but in the end, he chose to sit down instead: he had an image to uphold, after all. He had to keep his cool. There were undoubtedly several cops watching him through the CCTV cameras in his cell and Len wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of thinking they’d broken him.

Len leant his head back against the brick wall behind him, stretching his legs out in front and joining his hands together on his lap. He exuded a calm and carefree energy on the outside… but on the inside, his mind was reeling. Not because of his current environment, though. Len had a solid escape plan already in motion, and he knew he would never actually make it to Iron Heights. No, Len’s predicament was much more important than that.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture the soulmark he’d seen on that man’s hip. But Len knew that he hadn’t gotten a good enough look at the mark and he would never be able to say with 100% certainty whether the cop was or was not Len’s soulmate based on that one meeting alone.

Len opened his eyes and shook his head clear of all thoughts of soulmates and soulmarks. He had very limited information to go off of right now, and he was only going to go around and around in circles until he met this cop again.

To give his mind a break, he thought about what his next moves would be instead. The original plan was to return to where they were holding Dr Snow and get her to give up the Flash’ real name. She would have been sitting there with a bomb under her seat for several hours by this point, and Len had no doubt that it would have broken her spirits. She would jump at any chance they gave her to get out of there, even if it meant giving up someone she seemed to care about.

Len frowned and looked up at the camera in the corner of his cell. He scolded himself for not noticing it sooner, but he now realised that not a single cop he’d come across this evening had asked about Snow’s whereabouts even once since he’d been arrested. The Flash must have found her, which meant that the warehouse he had been sharing with Mick would be swarming with cops right about now. They’d left all the materials they needed to rebuild their guns in that warehouse, and now it was probably being locked into evidence. It would take them _weeks_ to collect all of that again and so Len would be without his cold gun for quite some time. He didn’t like the idea of that. He’d come quite accustomed to the weight of it in his hand.

Len felt loss for his cold gun but, other than that, he wasn’t angry that the Flash had ruined his plans. He supposed that it wasn’t the worst turn of events. Len wouldn’t be able to blackmail Snow into revealing the Flash’s identity now, but he figured that could wait for a while. He would come up with another plan to find out who the Flash really was beneath that cowl. But in the meantime, he had another more important identity to uncover first…

[] [] []

“You don’t think he recognised me, do you?” Barry asked, his voice low and quiet in the busy precinct as he watched Snart being towed away from them and towards the holding cells. The criminal in question cast one last look back at Barry before he was dragged completely out of sight, and that only served to double down on Barry’s nerves.

“How could he? You wear a mask,” Joe replied quickly, but his face told a different story. Barry could see the anxious lines around his eyes and mouth and knew that Joe didn’t believe his own words any more than Barry did.

It seemed unlikely that Leonard Snart – someone who Barry had only been within speaking distance of a couple of times – would be able to recognise his face under the mask when no one else in Barry’s life had been able to make that connection yet… But Captain Cold wasn’t the kind of man you wanted to underestimate. He couldn’t rule out that Snart might know his secret, and that just made him feel sick.

“What should I do?” Barry asked, still staring off at the door to the holding cells which Snart had disappeared through.

Joe shook his head. “Nothing.”

That gained Barry’s full attention. Joe looked tense but confident in his answer as he nodded his head to the side, indicating for Barry to follow him as they moved from the centre of the room to draw less attention to themselves and their conversation.

“You keep your distance from Snart,” he said, as he led the way towards his desk. There weren’t many cops lulling around here right now, all of them too busy congratulating Eddie on his arrest and regaling each other with stories of the Flash. “I’ll make sure that Eddie and I are the only ones who speak to him.”

Barry wasn’t so sure that he liked that plan, not appreciating being shoved off to the side-lines when it was his own secret that was at stake. He tried to tell Joe that, but his foster father didn’t hear any of it.

“Leave it to me,” Joe continued to insist, patting Barry on the shoulder as he walked off towards the holding cells. Barry sighed and collapsed into Joe’s vacant chair, running his fingers through his hair and barely resisting the urge to start pulling it out, one clump at a time. Barry wasn’t good at waiting, patience never being one of his strong suits. And now that he had his powers, he only seemed to be getting worse in that regard.

After a moment, Cisco walked up to him, smiling while proudly holding both the heat and cold guns in his hand.

“Why so glum, Chum?” he asked. “I thought you’d be happy to get Captain Cold off the streets. Plus, the… err…” Cisco cast a glance over his shoulder, overtly checking to make sure no one was within listening distance. “The Flash thing seemed to go down pretty well.”

Barry gave Cisco a weak smile. He didn’t feel like getting into his current worries again so soon, felt as though speaking about them now would only make him feel worse. He didn’t need to talk about it, he needed _answers_.

“Yeah, I am,” Barry said. “I’m just… it’s been a long day.”

Cisco laughed. “You can say that again.” Taking down supervillains on the regular was perhaps beginning to wear on them all a little bit… “So, are you ready to go?”

“Actually, I think I better stay around here for a little while,” Barry said, feeling bad about it instantly. He and Cisco were supposed to be going to check-in on Caitlin right now and see how she was doing after being kidnapped and tied to a bomb…

But Barry didn’t think he’d be able to leave the precinct tonight until he got some answers.

“Joe asked for my help,” he lied. “Can you give Cait my best?”

“Will do,” Cisco nodded, but he didn’t make to leave just yet. His mouth turned down into a frown as he studied Barry, and Barry attempted yet another smile. Apparently, it wasn’t very convincing. “Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

“I’m great!” Barry said, putting perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm into his lie. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Seriously. I’m fine.”

Cisco still didn’t look all too convinced, but he nodded anyway and backed away. He offered a quick goodbye before he turned and left the precinct. Barry nodded and returned his gaze once again to the first door of many which separated himself from Leonard Snart.

He sat there at Joe’s desk, and he thought, and he waited. Barry tried not to get too wrapped up in his own head and his worries but, of course, that was precisely what happened. He began to fret over the thought of a supervillain knowing his identity, of what Snart would do with that information, of how Barry was going to deal with it…

He didn’t know how long he was sitting there staring blankly in the distance for, but it had to have been a good long while until, finally, there was movement. The door that he’d barely been able to take his eyes off opened again, and Barry immediately stopped slouching in the seat; instead, he leant forward and clasped his hands together, resting his elbow on his knees while he looked on.

Barry sat like that as he watched Leonard Snart being marched across the bullpen, his eyes glued on the criminal being moved from his holding cell and into one of the interrogation rooms. At first, Snart seemed none the wiser of Barry’s attention on him, but then he glanced over, and they made eye contact once again. Snart smirked and gave Barry a wink before he was ushered into the interrogation room and the door was closed between them.

Barry couldn’t take it anymore.

He had to find out what Snart knew!

Joe’s chair scraped loudly across the hard tiled floor in Barry’s rush to jump out of the seat. He marched away from the desk and quickly moved upstairs to grab his CSI kit. When he got back down, he walked into the viewing area overlooking Snart’s room. Joe was there, staring at Snart through the two-way mirror, but Eddie was thankfully absent, still taking a well-deserved break before the interrogation began. Which meant that Barry might _just_ have enough time to get some answers.

When he opened the door, Joe looked over at him and frowned when his eyes fell to the kit in Barry’s hands.

“No,” he said, leaving no room for argument. But Barry wasn’t about to give up so quickly this time.

“You can’t stop me from going in there.”

“Like hell, I can’t,” Joe muttered. “You should be spending as little time with this guy as possible. Give him a chance, and he’ll figure everything out.”

“And what if he’s already done that?” Barry demanded. “I’m not just going to sit back and wait. I need to face this head-on.” Joe gritted his teeth and Barry could tell he was close to winning him over. “I know you want to protect me,” he said softly, his voice becoming more of a plea than a demand. He turned to look out of the two-way mirror and watched Snart sitting handcuffed to the table while casually drumming his fingers against it. “But sometimes I have to protect myself.”

“I don’t like this.”

“I know.”

For a moment, they were both silent as Barry waited for his foster father’s verdict. He could go in there without Joe’s approval, but he’d like to have it anyway.

“Just… be safe, would ya?” Joe said, and Barry nodded. He didn’t leave any time for his foster father to change his mind, hurriedly opening the door to the interrogation room and slipping inside. Snart raised his head to look Barry’s way, and the bored look instantly dropped from his face to be replaced with that smooth smirk again.

“Leonard Snart, I’m the CSI assigned to your case,” Barry said. He hoped his words didn’t sound as shaky to Snart as they did to his own ears, but Barry figured he was fresh out of luck on that one.

Snart didn’t say anything though as Barry took a deep breath and sat opposite him at the table. He didn’t offer up any hints about why he’d been staring so intently at Barry earlier… He didn’t give away the punchline to the little joke he was smirking over, nor did he give even the slightest clue as to whether or not he knew that Barry was the Flash.

After a second, Barry opened his kit. He took a moment to stare at his equipment and gather his thoughts while he pulled on gloves, slowly turning back to face Captain Cold.

“Can I have your hand?” he asked, and Snart quirked an eyebrow Barry’s way, the first movement he’d made since Barry had entered the interrogation room.

“You’re moving a bit _fast,_ aren’t you, Kid?” Snart drawled, and Barry’s heart jumped up into his throat.

Fuck.

He _did_ know.

But before Barry was able to do or say anything else, Snart was speaking again. “I don’t even know your name yet. A bit soon to ask for my hand.”

Barry could only blink at him as the double entendre clicked in his brain. He waited for Snart to say something else, something to confirm that he knew who Barry was. But Cold didn’t speak again, and the silence stretched on. Eventually, he held his right hand out for Barry to take, looking a little disappointed as he did.

Barry examined the criminal’s nails while he tried to think of something to say that could test what Snart did and did not know without giving anything away. His nails looked clean, and Barry remembered that Captain Cold always wore gloves when he was holding the cold gun, so it was unlikely that he would gather any evidence here. But Barry swabbed them anyway. After all, this was his excuse for being in the room, so he needed to act the part.

“You’re not very talkative for a CSI,” Cold muttered after a moment passed. Barry looked back up to see Snart was staring at him intensely. His blue eyes seemed to burrow into the depths of Barry’s soul.

It was unsettling.

“And you’ve met so many?” Barry asked. Snart shrugged, pursing his lips for a moment.

“A few. My dear old dad used to be a cop.”

“Yeah? What happened to you then?” Barry countered, and Snart’s smile was sharp and put-upon suddenly.

“I never said he was a _good_ one.” The implications of that made Barry’s skin crawl. He’d known a few dirty cops himself… it made him feel sick to see them abuse the law which they had sworn to uphold.

Barry noticed from the tightness around Snart’s eyes and mouth that his father was a tough subject, and that was a telling indication on its own. Snart hadn’t just woke up one day and decided to go steal a giant diamond. He’d been brought up this way, taught to be ruthless and callous by his own father. Barry didn’t know his story, but he could imagine that it wasn’t a happy childhood.

It didn’t excuse what he’d done, but Barry felt a little sad about it, nonetheless.

“So, what’s your name, Kid?” Snart asked as though deliberately trying to change the subject. “You know mine. It’s only fair that I know yours.” Barry didn’t want to answer that, but he didn’t see that he had much choice in the matter. Refusing to answer would surely tell Snart that there was a _reason_ why Barry didn’t want to give out his name. But, honestly, it was probably pointless trying to keep it a secret anyway. Snart knew his face and where he worked, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to find a name too.

“Barry... Barry Allen,” he stuttered out. He studied Snart’s features afterwards, though he wasn’t quite sure what he was watching _for_. Just some kind of indication that Cold knew who he was… knew that he was the Flash.

When Snart’s eyes lit up with recognition a second later, Barry was sure he had been made.

But, instead, Snart said: “Allen? As in Doc’s son?”

“You know my dad?” Barry asked, too shocked to keep it in.

“I do,” Leonard nodded. “He’s a good man; stitched me up a couple of times when I was last in the Heights.” Cold leant forward on the table, his face softening a little bit as the tension from the previous conversation seeped away. “He talks about you a lot.”

Barry found himself smiling at that. He imagined his dad bragging about him in the same way that some of his co-workers would brag about their own kids. It probably wasn’t a very wise thing to do, considering Barry worked for the CCPD and undoubtedly helped to put away some of the fugitives in his dad’s cell block, but Barry decided he could worry about that some other time. Right now, he was content to just enjoy this feeling for a little while.

“It must have been hard,” Snart continued tenderly. Barry made eye contact with him again, imploring him to continue. “Your mother dying, and your father being falsely imprisoned on the same night… couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t,” Barry answered honestly. But then he was frowning again. “Wait. You believe my dad is innocent?”

“Of course,” Snart said as though it was obvious. “Doc hasn’t got a bad bone in his body, anyone with half a brain can see that.” Barry could only blink at Snart silently. How had every cop in this place – Joe included – found it so easy to convict his father, but _Captain Cold_ was the only one who knew he was innocent? “Why? Don’t you?”

“No, yeah. Of course, I do,” Barry stumbled. “It’s just... most people think I’m delusional.”

“I’m not most people,” Snart said, leaning closer on the table separating them.

Barry couldn’t describe how he was feeling right now. He’d never had anyone believe him, _truly_ believe him, about his father’s innocence without even needing a shred of evidence to back it up. It was… _amazing_.

Sure, Joe and Iris believed Barry _now_. Now that there was proof that the impossible was real. But they never used to. Joe had maintained Henry’s guilt for the past 14 years and Iris… she’d wanted to believe him, but she looked up to her father too much to really disagree with him on something like this. She’d been kind about it and had always been there to hear Barry out, but whether she’d ever really believed him was still up for debate.

“I can see the family resemblance,” Snart said absentmindedly as he continued to look Barry over with those piercing blue eyes. It wasn’t quite so intimidating anymore. There was a surprisingly warm look behind that gaze, one that drew Barry in and made him feel oddly at ease. Though, perhaps that ease had something to do with Leonard’s words because things were finally falling into place now.

“So, that’s why you were staring at me back there?” Barry asked, sure of the answer he would receive. Snart _had_ recognised him… just not as the Flash.

“Sure...” Snart smiled. It wasn’t like his earlier sharpened smirk, though. This smile felt different. “And it also didn’t hurt that you’re cute.”

“That’s…” Barry started but didn’t know how to finish. His face and chest felt warm all of a sudden, and the intense look in Snart’s blue eyes wasn’t helping anything. “Flattery isn’t going to get you out of here,” he eventually settled on. Snart looked _highly_ amused by this point.

“No… but it might help me get _into_ something else,” he drawled, his voice smooth and seductive. Barry’s cheeks were burning hot now as Snart’s eyes dipped to trail over his lips and visible body. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sharp thunderous noise of someone banging on the glass of the two-way mirror. Barry jumped back in surprise. He realised that he had just been holding Snart’s hand for the past several minutes and dropped it abruptly, the chain of his handcuffs clattering loudly as they hit the table.

Looking down and away from Snart’s eyes, Barry got up and quickly moved to the door to see what Joe wanted. He slipped through the door and closed it gently behind him before turning to face his foster father, hoping that would give him enough time for the redness to bleed out of his cheeks.

“Barry, I can’t believe I have to say this, but would you stop flirting with a wanted criminal, please?” Joe asked instantly, looking thoroughly unimpressed

“ _Flirting_? No… I...” Barry spluttered. “That’s not what...”

“Save it. Just wrap things up,” he ordered, and Barry wasn’t about to argue this time. He nodded his head and slipped back into the interrogation room, only then realising that he’d left his kit in here and silently reprimanding himself for being so careless. But after a quick glance inside, Barry came to the conclusion that Snart hadn’t taken anything out.

“Everything okay?” the criminal asked, and Barry just hummed and nodded. He asked for Snart’s other hand so he could swab quickly underneath those nails too, looking down at his work rather than meeting Cold’s gaze again. Without another word, Barry packed up his kit and moved to the door. He paused only momentarily when he heard Snart speak back up again, the words sending a pleasant chill down his spine. “I’ll be seeing you, Barry.”

[] [] []

As far as first meetings go, Len thought that one went pretty well.

He had found out his soulmate’s name, discovered a little common ground, and even got the guy to smile. For a moment there, Barry had seemed to look past his criminal activities, to see Len as a real person rather than just a crook with a fancy gun. And, coming from a badge who didn’t even know Len was his soulmate yet, that was no small thing.

All in all, it was a decent foundation to build off, and Len _did_ want to build on it. He wanted to see where this could go. And, more than anything else, that was the biggest surprise of the night. Len had always known that he had a soulmate out there; of course, he had. It was one of the first things that were ever taught about in school, Len had always known that there was one person out there who was uniquely his. As a kid, he hadn’t cared about that one way or another. He was too young to care about love.

But then his dad got out of prison, and his mother fled to God only knows where, and the world got a whole lot crueller. That was when Len really began to care about his soulmark. It was just there, a constant reminder that, no matter what Lewis said to the contrary, there was always going to be someone out there who would love him. Someone that the universe deemed as Len’s perfect match. And that was important.

However, as the years began to pass, Len saw himself changing, and not for the better. He became harder, colder, angrier. He’d had to make difficult calls, and his decisions weren’t always the right ones. By the time Len was in his twenties, his soulmark had stopped being a comfort and was instead a sour reminder of how weak and helpless he’d been as a kid. And, perhaps even worse, it was a reminder of how low he had fallen, of how not even his soulmate could love him anymore. Len wasn’t the man who he was supposed to be. He knew that deep down, and it made him feel bitter. He wasn’t the man that his soulmate deserved.

Len had stopped thinking about it completely by the time he hit thirty. After all, where was the sense in dwelling on something like that? He’d even considered getting a tattoo to cover his mark up at one point, though he hadn’t gone through with that idea in the end…

He’d just thought that he wasn’t the ‘ _soulmate’_ kind of guy. That he’d never be able to trust anyone else or let them into his life. That he’d never be able to share that kind of connection with anyone… and that was okay. Len had lived his whole life without a soulmate, and he’d done fine. He didn’t _need_ anyone.

And that still was true, Len didn’t need anyone… but that didn’t stop him from wanting them. From wanting Barry. The guy was _enticing_. Attractive, sure, there was no doubt about that. But he also just carried this energy about him. He’d had a difficult childhood, a difficult _life_ , but he still came out of it so happy and hopeful. He didn’t let the darkness in the world swallow him up whole, he didn’t let it overpower him. Barry was stronger than that. He was stronger than Len.

They may have only shared a quick conversation, but Len was already certain that Barry deserved someone so much better than him as his soulmate. He ought to have someone strong, and kind, and bright like he was. Barry didn’t deserve to get stuck with Leonard Snart. But Len was selfish and, despite how much better than him Barry Allen was, Len wanted to be his soulmate.

Barry and his sweet smile and his beautiful eyes were all that Len could think about through the interrogation, all he could think about as the detectives West and Thawne berated him with question after question, getting increasingly frustrated while Len remained entirely silent throughout. He couldn’t care about either of them, though.

Eventually, the pair had called it quits, and a couple of unis had come in to lead Len back out of the interrogation room.

The moment that he was back in the bullpen, his head was up, and his eyes were scanning everyone in the precinct. He wasn’t looking for exits, counting heads, or keeping an eye on who had a gun… no, Len was looking for one particular set of shining green eyes in the crowd of faces.

And then Len found them. Found _him_.

Barry was sitting at the same desk as earlier, pretending to read through a case file, though he wasn’t fooling anyone with that act. He didn’t shy away when Len looked at him, didn’t duck his head or avert his gaze to the floor. In fact, Barry seemed to find it as difficult to break their eye contact as Len did, and that realisation made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Len held Barry’s gaze as he was led through the precinct once again. He held it as long as he could until he was forced to turn away while they took him back towards his holding cell. West was the one to take the handcuffs off and lock him up, turning and leaving Len alone in the large empty room. There were two decent-sized holding cells in here, but not one single criminal in sight. It was just Len.

He supposed he should take that as a compliment. The CCPD clearly felt he was too dangerous to be held alongside anyone else, so much so that they had gone out of their way to relocate all other criminals to different cells in the building, perhaps even a different precinct all together.

Len didn’t mind that, of course. In fact, he even enjoyed the silence as he went to retake his seat on the bench. He stretched his legs out in front of himself, reclining his head back against the hard, concrete wall behind, and closed his eyes: the perfect image of cool. Though, Len wasn’t anywhere near as calm as he appeared, what with the images of Barry Allen running through his mind.

Could the kid really be Len’s soulmate?

Or was he just working himself up for disappointment?

And it _would_ be a disappointment, too. It had been nearly twenty years since Len last put any thought into who his soulmate might be. How they would act, how they would talk, what they would look like.

But even still, Len had never pictured anyone like Barry. He was just so incredibly different from Len.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Having a soulmate as a cop, even a CSI, would certainly be complicated. But it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen either. And the more Len thought about it – alone in this big vacant room – the more he wanted it to be true.

Though, Len wasn’t left to his own thoughts for very long; it was barely even ten minutes later when the reinforced door which separated the all-but-empty cells from the rest of the precinct buzzed open.

And then in stepped Barry Allen.

Len said nothing as Barry walked into the room and the door clicked closed behind him. Barry inched closer to Len’s cell, looking decidedly more comfortable now than he had been after their conversation in the interrogation room got rudely interrupted.

“Surprised to see me?” Barry asked, and Len’s lips quirked up into a brief smile.

He shrugged. “A little, yeah.”

Barry didn’t say anything else, didn’t give any hints about why he was here, so Len stood from his seat and slinked closer to the edge of his holding cell. He raised his left arm up above his head, holding it horizontally against the bars which separated them and pressing all his weight there. It was an intimidating stance, he knew, but Barry didn’t back away or look frightened of the way Len was looming over him. Len might have been inclined to chalk that up as a learnt behaviour from working with the CCPD. Perhaps it was merely an over-confidence from knowing that Len was locked up… not that the cell would necessarily stop Len from doing anything, but they did admittedly lower his options.

Yes, maybe Len would have thought it had something to do with Barry’s experience around criminals… if not for the way that Barry’s eyes flicked quickly down Len’s body. And when he managed to cast his gaze back up at Len’s face again, he looked downright guilty.

Len smirked.

“Like what you see?” he asked, and Barry blushed a vibrant red, taking a half-step back away from Len as though putting an extra few inches of distance between them would give him a clearer head. Len looked down at the prison garb they’d given him to change into. “I’m not all that partial to orange myself, and jumpsuits aren’t typically my style.” He shrugged. “But I guess I can pull off anything.” Len smirked and winked. “Or I could let you pull it off for me? I quite like a partner who knows how to take control.”

“That is…” Barry shook his head, averting Len’s gaze completely as his eyes found the floor incredibly interesting all of a sudden. “ _… so_ not appropriate.” Yet he still didn’t look entirely uninterested. Len chose not to mention it though as he leant there and watched Barry, the man who might be his soulmate, take a deep breath and shake off that nervous air that had been surrounding him.

He didn’t speak, though, so Len asked: “Do I get to know the reason for this visit?”

Barry looked back up at Len, seeming a little uncertain… though, whether that was for himself or the situation he’d found himself in, Len couldn’t say. Eventually, though, a smile did crack through Barry’s nerves and appear on his lips again.

“Are you complaining?” he asked, and Len grinned at the playful tone to his voice.

“Not at all.” Barry didn’t look away that time, even as Len layered his words thick with his Central drawl and dragged his eyes up and down Barry’s body. “Just colour me curious.”

“You didn’t speak to Joe or Eddie,” Barry said, and Len waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, Len shrugged.

“Ah, I get it,” he drawled, pushing himself slightly off of the bar and dropping his arm back down to his side before shrugging. “I didn’t talk to them, so you’re hoping I’ll speak to you instead.” Barry didn’t say anything, so Len pushed. “Is that all this is, Barry? Just business?” he feigned disappointment at that, though perhaps it wasn’t as much of an act as he would have liked it to have been. Len supposed that if he were being entirely honest – which he tried not to be, not even with himself – he was a _little_ disheartened that Barry had an actual reason to be in here again. That he wasn’t just there because he wanted to be. “I’m hurt.”

“You’ll survive.”

“Yes, but will I ever love again?”

Barry scoffed a laugh out at that, possibly because he didn’t know what else he _could_ do at such an outlandish come-on. And it _was_ brazen, Len knew; he might have toned it down a notch if they weren’t steadily running out of time together. Or maybe he wouldn’t have? Because as embarrassed as Barry seemed to be becoming, he wasn’t shutting Len down or stepping any further away from the cell; in fact, he seemed to be drifting even closer again.

“Don’t say you’re just messing with my heart, Barry,” Len said. “I’m the one who plays things cool around here.”

“They took your gun,” Barry reminded him, as though that was a reason to drop the puns.

“Yes, but I have other ways to give you chills.”

Barry opened his mouth to respond, but then seemed to remember himself and where they were. Len watched the amusement drain out of his eyes to be replaced with… confusion? Doubt? Len couldn’t say for sure, but it was nowhere near as fun.

Eventually, Barry sighed. “I should go.”

“Don’t.,” Len said. And perhaps his response was a little too quick, too eager, because Barry started to frown.

“Why not?” he asked, clearly becoming suspicious. “What are you up to?”

“Maybe I just want a pretty face to talk to before I get shipped off to prison,” Len deflected with a smirk and a shrug. “Is that too much to ask for?”

“Eddie’s pretty,” Barry countered and then immediately winced at his own words, which made Len laugh. Barry looked surprised by his reaction, but no more surprised than Len was. Neither of them mentioned it though.

Instead, Len said: “Detective Thawne isn’t really my type.”

“But I am?” Barry asked, and he sounded very sceptical. Perhaps he didn’t realise how attractive he was… or maybe he just didn’t expect this kind of attention from a hardened criminal like Captain Cold. Did he even _want_ Len’s attention? He seemed interested, but maybe he was just playing that up to get Len to speak. That was, after all, the only reason he was here – he’d admitted that only a few minutes ago.

But it wouldn’t work. Len wasn’t going to talk. Not about his cold gun, or the Flash, or his partner, and _definitely_ not about his sister waiting to break Len and Mick out of their prison transport.

There was one thing Len wanted to say though, one thing that he was _dying_ to ask. And as the seconds ticked on by, he couldn’t think of a good enough reason not to ask it…

“Barry,” Len said, his voice losing that teasing lilt and becoming infinitely more serious. Barry looked over at him expectantly, waiting to hear what he had to say. Len felt his heart begin to race, feeling nervous for the first time in forever. Not that he let that show on his face as he finally bit the bullet and voiced his question. “What does your soulmark look like?”

“What?” Barry laughed, and Len knew that the kid thought it was some weird pick up line. Len supposed it was, in a way. But…

“I saw part of it out there,” he said, tilting his head to towards the door. Barry’s smile was still in place, but it was losing its edge now, and his eyebrows were slowly coming together as Len continued to talk. “Your shirt lifted up a little, but I didn’t see enough to know for sure.”

Barry was shaking his head, just a small shift from side to side. He probably didn’t realise he was doing it, but it _hurt_ nonetheless. God, he’d only known this kid for a few hours, but Len already knew getting rejected by him would be a blow to his system.

But he continued anyway. Len could already see how this thing was going to play out, but he couldn’t stop himself from trying.

“I think I’m your soulmate,” he said. He could feel his hands shaking. He tried to steady them but failed so he wrapped his fingers around the bars of the holding cell between them instead. Barry took a step back, though he seemed to instantly regret it. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again almost immediately. He started rubbing at the back of his neck again as a range of emotions flitted across his face, and Len’s eyes fell automatically to the soulmark on his hip. Unfortunately, it was even less visible now than it had been earlier.

But his eyes were drawn then to a noise in the next room. He looked across to see Detective West’s disapproving face appear in the window of the door seconds before it opened. Barry jumped in surprise, but Len refused to lose his cool and continued to lean casually against the bars of the cell.

Time was up, he supposed.

“Come on, Snart. Time to say goodbye,” West muttered as he and several other police officers stepped through the door. Len pushed himself off the bars and waited for West to unlock the cell. Another officer came in and handcuffed him, grabbing his arm, and leading him out of the room. This time he didn’t look back at Barry, just kept his eyes trained forward as he was marched through the precinct and shoved into the back of a prison transport van.

Detective Thawne was the one to close the doors on him and Mick; he looked too cocky for his own good.

The moment the engine started and the van pulled away from the precinct, Mick began complaining. Len let him have his moan, it actually helped a little bit. It helped to bring him back out of his own head… out of that damn look in Barry’s eyes when he’d found out Len could be his soulmate. It helped to bring him back to the task at hand. He smirked to himself when he felt the van come to an emergency stop. Lisa was right on time.

[] [] []

Barry was left staring after Snart as he was led away again.

Could what he’d said really be true?

Could they really be soulmates?

How would that even work? A hero and a thief… they were polar opposites!

He couldn’t say how long he stayed standing in that room and staring off into blank space before Joe came back.

“You alright, Barr?” he asked, and Barry shook his head.

“Yeah, fine,” he lied. But how on Earth was he supposed to explain to Joe what he’d just found out? How was he supposed to explain that to _anyone_? Snart had just kidnapped Caitlin and strapped a bomb to her chair. He’d…

_Fuck_.

He’d _killed_ someone the last time he was in Central. How could someone like that be Barry’s soulmate?

Unconsciously, Barry lifted both of his hands up and ran them through his hair, linking his fingers at the back of his head and keeping them there.

“You sure about that?” Joe pressed on, unconvinced by Barry’s answer. “Snart didn’t… find anything out, right?”

“What? No. No, he doesn’t know anything,” Barry answered quickly. He realised what he was doing with his hands and dropped them quickly back to his side, probably leaving his hair in quite a mess, but he’d fix that later. “I’m just tired,” Barry brushed off. The age-old excuse.

“You should go home and rest,” Joe said slowly, still eying him suspiciously. Barry put on a fake smile and nodded. He patted Joe on the shoulder as he left the room, trying his best to appear calm when inside he was screaming.

Barry did go home to his apartment in the end, though he didn’t get any rest. He ended up pacing up and down from room to room. He couldn’t get his mind or body to settle. After a while, he decided to go for a run, though he somehow found himself outside of Joe’s house only moments later.

He hadn’t really _meant_ to come here… but now that he was, he realised that he could really do with someone to talk things over with.

Barry didn’t bother knocking on the door as he used his key to get inside before he could second-guess himself. The living room was covered with boxes of Iris’ things as she prepared for her big move into Eddie’s place tomorrow morning. It was a mess, but it was a comfortable mess. And despite most of the boxes being fully packed and sealed, there was just something very reminiscent of the Iris who Barry had grown up with about being here now, surrounded by her clutter. It was kind of calming and precisely what Barry needed. He knew he wouldn’t be able to tell her everything without revealing that he was the Flash… but he was sure he could skirt over that. He just needed to tell her about… about Snart.

“Iris, you home?” Barry called into the house. There was the sound of movement from upstairs, and Barry didn’t have to wait all too long before Iris’ head popped around the corner at the bend halfway down the staircase. She was dressed in her fluffy pink pyjamas with her hair done up in a messy bun, rubbing at her tired eyes. Clearly, she had been in bed. It was only 10 pm; however, Barry shouldn’t have been surprised by her taking an early night what with the busy day she was in for tomorrow. But it hadn’t crossed his mind until right this minute.

“Barry?” she asked around a yawn. He felt instantly guilty. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… It’s… I didn’t mean to wake you, go back to sleep,” he said, backing away towards the door and shaking his head. But then Iris rushed down the last of the steps and grabbed his arm, considerably more alert and concerned now by whatever emotion she saw playing on Barry’s face.

“I’m already awake, you might as well tell me now,” she encouraged, her eyes soft and warm. It was a sharp contrast to the cool and calculating eyes of Leonard Snart. Barry couldn’t understand how he could be paired with a man like Snart when Iris existed. But Iris was destined for Eddie, and Barry was destined for… something else.

“I think I met my soulmate,” he blurted out.

For a moment, Iris only blinked at him. Meeting your soulmate was supposed to be a joyous occasion… It shouldn’t make Barry look like he was riding on the edge of a panic attack. Which he maybe was.

“You _think_?” she eventually asked, and Barry nodded his head, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously. Iris frowned further and linked her arm around Barry guiding him to sit at the dining table: the only place to sit in the entirety of Joe’s downstairs that wasn’t covered in her belongings. “And why don’t you know for sure?”

“I didn’t see his soulmark,” Barry said as they took a seat side by side. “He saw mine. Part of it, anyway. Or… so he says…”

Her frown only deepened. “Why don’t you believe him?”

“Because…” Barry took a deep breath and lowered his gaze to stare at his hands as he picked at a strand of thread on his sweater. He didn’t want to tell her the truth. But his need to speak to someone about this outweighed that. “It’s Leonard Snart.”

Iris frowned. “ _Snart_? As in…?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

A silence fell between them, and it made Barry nervous. He slowly lifted his head again and made eye contact with his friend.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, and Barry shook his head. What _could_ he do? Snart was in prison now. _Barry_ was the one who had put him there. So, whether they were or weren’t soulmates, nothing could happen between them. “Well… do you like him?”

“He’s a _murderer_ ,” was Barry’s automatic response, and Iris winced.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” she said, and Barry’s mouth snapped shut. He couldn’t like Snart. He _couldn’t_. He was a criminal, a bad guy. He was the kind of man than Barry should hate. “You know, it’s okay if the answer’s yes,” she said softly when Barry didn’t speak. Iris shifted closer to him on her seat and rested her head sideways on Barry’s shoulder. “No one’s going to look at you any differently if you do like him.”

“Joe would,” Barry muttered. Iris shook her head gently, the hair sticking out of her bun tickling against Barry’s neck, though he didn’t want to pull away. It wasn’t that Barry still had a thing for Iris. He didn’t. He’d got over that the second that she’d introduced him to her soulmate. But Iris would always be special to Barry, she’d forever be his best friend, and being around her would always give him comfort.

“Never,” she said, her voice fierce despite how quiet she was speaking. “And, anyway, Snart may be a criminal, but if he’s your soulmate, then there has got to be more to the story. There has to be some slither of good in there somewhere.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Iris asked, lifting her head from his shoulder to look him in the eye. “Barry, you are the kindest, sweetest man I know. There is no way that your soulmate is pure evil. Okay. None. Zilch. Nada.”

Maybe that was true, maybe there was a part of Snart that was a good, honest man. But regardless of whether he was evil or not, Leonard was still a criminal with a rap sheet the length of a GRRM novel.

However, thinking about the conversations they’d shared tonight…

“I think I might like him,” Barry admitted, surprising himself. He hadn’t even realised he was going to say it until the words were spilling from his lips. He really _must_ be tired if he was spouting nonsense like that. Except, when Barry thought about it, he realised it was true. Snart was different than the other bad guys that Barry faced as the Flash. He teased him, challenged him, made him think on his feet. It wasn’t always a good thing and the memory of that security guard that Snart had iced still haunted Barry.

But then he’d met Leonard as a person today instead of as an enemy and… wow. He had an energy about him that had just drawn Barry in. He was so suave and attractive, and Barry didn’t want to like it, but he _did_.

“But it doesn’t really matter now, anyway,” he said. “He’s in prison.”

Barry looked away and down at the swirling pattern on the wooden table in front of them, staring at it while Iris lowered her head back on his shoulder. They stayed like that silently for a long while. Eventually, Barry felt Iris’ breathing begin to slow and realised she was on the verge of falling asleep. He was feeling the pull of sleep too and was struggling to keep his sore eyes open, his vision beginning to blur a little around the edges.

“I should go,” he whispered, and Iris lifted her head again.

“You don’t have to,” she told him, but Barry just shook his head and stood up. Iris needed to get some sleep, the whites of her eyes turning pink as she attempted to hold in another yawn.

“I’ll see you later,” he promised and leant down to give her a hug goodbye before turning towards the front door. He was only steps away when the shape of a man appeared behind the glass, and the door swung open. Joe stepped into the house, his face was stern and angry, and Barry was instantly on high alert.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and Joe’s jaw clenched as he spat out the next words. Words which had Barry’s heart racing, making him glance back at a wide-eyed Iris still sitting at the table.

“Snart and Rory escaped in transit. We’ve lost them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this so far. Leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts?
> 
> Once again, the all credit for that beautiful artwork goes to [Hawkstincan](https://hawkstincan.tumblr.com/). Go tell them how amazing they are!


	2. Chapter 2

Barry didn’t sleep much that night.

His mind span furiously with memories and daydreams long passed but never forgotten. He remembered how he’d wanted to find his soulmate for as long as he’d known what a soulmate _was_. He’d spent days doodling his mark over and over and over again until he got it to look _perfect_. He’d shown his parents his drawings, and then he’d gone out and shown Iris too. He remembered the feeling of knots in his stomach as he presented her with the most accurate drawing of his soulmark that he could muster up… and he remembered the way his heart had fallen as she’d tugged the collar of her dress down low enough for Barry to see hers too. Barry had realised that day that their marks didn’t match.

He’d been sad back then. Iris was the first girl he’d ever crushed on, and he’d been so sure she’d be a part of his life forever. Turns out that he was right about that last part, just not the reason why.

Iris was his best friend, but not his soulmate, and that was _okay_ because it just meant that there was someone else out there that Barry would love even more than he loved her. As impossible as that had seemed while he was growing up, Barry knew it had to be true because that was what everyone told him. They told him again, and again, and again that when he met his soulmate, it would feel like nothing he’d ever known before. When he met _the one_ , every relationship that came before them – no matter how bright Barry thought the candle he held for them burned – would be dull in comparison. What Barry felt for Iris as a kid had been great, but what he felt for his soulmate would be out of this world.

It had to be true because everyone always told him that it was!

So how could it be that _Leonard Snart_ might be Barry’s soulmate?

Snart was Barry’s enemy. Regardless of how attractive he was, or how smooth he spoke, or how his gaze left Barry feeling all warm inside. Snart was his _enemy_.

They couldn’t be soulmates…

Barry sighed and pulled himself out of bed. Truthfully, he could have done with another few hours of rest, but that was never going to happen, not so long as his mind was running a mile a minute with thoughts of soulmates, soulmarks, and supervillains.

And, anyway, Barry was supposed to be at Joe’s house in a few minutes to help Iris move out. He needed to get going. There were a couple of speedster-approved energy bars stashed away in his cupboard, so he grabbed a couple of those now and chowed down as he sped through showering and getting dressed. A few minutes later, and he was holding his keys, ready to leave the apartment.

As he opened the door, though, he came face to face with Captain Cold.

Barry froze in the doorway, his eyes wide as his jaw just about hit the floor. Snart smirked.

“Surprised to see me?” he drawled, and Barry abruptly snapped his mouth shut. He wanted to ask how Cold had found out where he lived, but he supposed he wouldn’t get a proper answer to that anyway. He also wanted to ask why Snart thought it would be a good idea to just show up here out of the blue only hours after breaking out of prison transport, but Barry guessed he knew the answer to that question already.

So, instead, Barry said: “That was my line.”

He stepped back away from the door, wordlessly inviting Snart inside. Not because he necessarily wanted Captain Cold chilling in his living room, but because he knew that this conversation was probably better had in private, as opposed to out in the hallway where any one of Barry’s nosy neighbours could eavesdrop in.

Barry turned to walk a little further into his apartment, dropping his keys back down into a bowl on his coffee table. He felt surprisingly comfortable turning his back on Captain Cold, despite how the man had been trying to kill him just last night. But Snart didn’t know that Barry was the Flash. And if the claims about his soulmark were true, there really was no reason for Leonard to want to hurt him.

“It was a good line,” Snart nodded, and Barry took a second to just close his eyes and breathe, attempting to calm down his racing heartbeat before he turned back to face the criminal standing comfortably in his living room.

“So, what? You’re just going to steal my entrance now?” Barry asked, sounding much more confident than he felt.

“Why not? I am a thief,” Leonard reminded him, not that Barry really needed anything to jog his memory on that one. He was all too aware of Snart’s crimes.

Leonard cast his eyes around Barry’s place, taking in what he could see of the small apartment which Barry had somehow managed to squeeze all his belongings into. When Leonard locked eyes with Barry again, he was smirking.

“I’ll steal your heart next.”

“Wow, that is…” Barry shook his head, “that is the corniest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Corny or… romantic?” Leonard asked expectantly.

“Corny,” Barry continued to insist. What he didn’t say, however, was that he kind of liked sappy comments like that.

“Oh, look, it’s our first fight,” Snart drawled, and Barry laughed nervously because this was most definitely _not_ their first fight. But Leonard couldn’t know that because he didn’t know who Barry really _was_. And, yeah, this whole nemesis-soulmate thing was going to be very complicated…

 _If_ they were even really soulmates to begin with…

“Show me,” Barry said suddenly, and Snart quirked an eyebrow up in question. So, Barry elaborated, trying to keep down his blush. “Your soulmark. Show me your soulmark.”

It was rude, he knew. Taboo, even. Soulmarks were precious and personal things. You didn’t just demand to see someone’s mark, not even if you thought they were your soulmate. But Barry needed to know if what Leonard had said was true. He needed proof, right here and right now. Barry needed to see it with his own eyes.

Leonard paused, looking hesitant to comply, and Barry felt instantly bad about his demands. This wasn’t how you were supposed to treat your soulmate, you weren’t supposed to doubt them or ask for more than they could give you.

But as terrible as Barry felt about asking this of Snart, he felt equally as suspicious about _why_ it was that Leonard didn’t seem to want to show Barry his mark. Maybe it was simply because he thought Barry was being rude?

Or maybe he’d been making up this whole soulmate story from the beginning as some sort of powerplay?

Barry didn’t know if even Captain Cold would do something so horrible as that, but Barry’s doubts persisted as the seconds ticked on by without Leonard making a move.

But then, Snart shrugged his leather jacket off and threw it – not at all delicately – onto Barry’s couch. The navy, long-sleeved top he was wearing underneath hugged his arms nicely, and Barry’s breath caught in his throat, mesmerised by the muscle adorning Snart’s body. The few times that Barry had run into Leonard before, he had been wearing his parka or a different coat which covered up his body quite well, so seeing him without any of that now was unexpectedly satisfying.

Erotic, even.

Almost as though Leonard was naked and bare in front of Barry now.

Snart’s hand went down to the hem of his shirt, and Barry’s heart raced, his mouth going dry. Dry enough that he had to put a decent effort into swallowing, feeling as though his heart was stuck inside the back of his throat.

Then Snart began to tug the bottom of his shirt up, not much, but enough. Enough for Barry to see the looping black mark on his hip: a symbol of unending love which matched Barry’s entirely.

Barry reached forward. He didn’t really mean to, didn’t plan on doing it, didn’t think it through, but he also didn’t stop himself once he realised what he was doing. His hand hovered there above Snart’s mark for a moment, and he was only able to tear his gaze away from it to look Leonard in his eyes, silently asking for permission.

Snart didn’t nod or tell Barry that it was okay, but he also didn’t step back or pull his shirt back down either. So, slowly, gently, Barry pressed his hand forward that last inch.

Barry flirted the tips of his fingers across Leonard’s mark. It was barely even a real touch, but the second that his hand made even the briefest of contact with Snart’s soulmark, something sparked between them. For the slightest of seconds, Barry thought the spark had come from _him_ , from his powers bursting out of him and giving up his secret to Leonard. It felt so real, so tangible, that Barry almost pulled away.

But then Leonard stopped him, his long fingers wrapping around Barry’s wrist. Barry looked back up at Leonard, into his eyes, at the _awe_ he found there staring back at him. Barry wondered whether he looked the same right now; chances were that he did.

Snart guided Barry’s hand to press harder at the mark, and Barry did. They both gasped and moaned, Barry’s eyes falling closed as he slowly spread his hand against Leonard’s soulmark until his palm was pushed flat against Leonard’s hip.

It felt… _Christ_ , it felt amazing. Almost like that soft afterglow of sex, when you felt sated, and sensitive, and raw, and so God damn _good_. It felt like that, but it also didn’t. This sensation seemed to run deeper than that. Barry felt it in his bones, in his _soul_.

Leonard was his.

There was no question about it, no doubt left in Barry’s mind. He’d found his soulmate, and his soulmate was Leonard Snart.

Barry didn’t want to think too deeply about what Leonard had done though, didn’t want to ruin this moment. The ifs and buts and complications and working it all out could come later; right now, Barry just wanted to _feel_.

After a few seconds passed, he managed to open his eyes again, finding that Leonard was looking back. Barry wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how or what. So, he just stood there a little longer, absorbed entirely in this feeling of being… well, not quite _whole_ , but _something_. Something more than he had been only a few minutes ago.

It was only then that Barry realised there was one more thing he had to do before they would be entirely complete. Slowly, he slipped his hand away from Leonard’s skin. Snart didn’t try to stop him this time, didn’t wordlessly beg for Barry’s touch like he had done earlier. Though maybe that was only because he knew what Barry was doing.

The second that Barry was no longer touching Leonard’s mark, he felt that euphoric response ebb away. Desperate to make that connection again, Barry wasted no time yanking the shirt and sweater vest combo up over his head in one quick move. The neckline of his shirt got momentarily caught around his head, and he ended up stumbling a little while attempting to free himself. But Leonard caught him before Barry could make even _more_ of a fool of himself by falling over.

Barry was blushing a deep hot red as he threw his shirt to add to the pile of clothes forming on his couch. And the only thing that stopped Barry feeling so mortified that he might actually die from it was the wide smile spread across Snart’s lips.

Somehow, Leonard didn’t seem to care that Barry had just made a huge fool of himself in probably one of the most significant moments of their lives. In fact, if that grin was anything to go by, Snart even seemed to find the whole incident charming.

Maybe that was why Barry kissed him… why he pressed forward that one last foot of space which separated their mouths and pressed his lips against Snart’s. This kiss was eager, and open-mouthed, and welcoming. And it didn’t take long at all until Snart’s tongue found its way past Barry’s lips. For a moment, Barry just felt calm and happy. One of his hands came up to rest at the back of Leonard’s neck, using it as leverage to deepen the kiss further, to take everything that Snart was willing to give him.

Leonard’s hands were resting across Barry’s midriff still from where he’d caught Barry earlier. But now, Snart’s left hand began to brush delicately down that last couple of inches of skin. Barry tensed in anticipation, barely able to focus on Leonard’s tongue in his mouth while his fingers edged closer.

Finally, Snart’s palm landed against Barry’s soulmark.

The sensation was even stronger this time than before. It was so strong that Barry and Leonard both gasped away from the kiss, eyes closed as they rested their foreheads together and just focused on maintaining their breathing. Barry had to bite back a moan of delight. That one touch was so small, and yet so all-encompassing. It felt as though Leonard was staking his claim on Barry’s soul itself, and he liked it.

But then Leonard let go of Barry completely, and it was too big of a change too suddenly. It left him feeling cold on the inside. He whimpered, wanting to push back in closer to have Snart in his arms. But Leonard instead dropped to his knees, and Barry once again found himself breathless.

Leonard looked up at him, his blue eyes shining in the morning light. He was beautiful. Barry hadn’t really noticed it before, too caught up in this game of Flash vs Cold to pay enough attention to Leonard’s features. And when he had seen it – like when he’d met Snart on that train, up close and personal for the first time – he’d had to quickly shove those thoughts away and keep them locked up inside.

Barry didn’t need to do that now, though.

There was no danger around them, no one was about to get hurt, no one needed his help. It was just Barry standing there topless in his living room with Leonard Snart on his knees in front of him. Barry wet his lips, his hand itching to reach out to Leonard again, to touch him, to touch his mark and feel that breath-taking electricity once again.

But Leonard beat Barry to it. He placed his hand on Barry’s hip, his fingers spread against Barry’s lower back as only his thumb brushed the soulmark. That was enough, though, enough to make Barry’s knees weak and his toe’s curl. And then Snart’s eyes fluttered closed as he leant forward, pressing a soft kiss at the centre of Barry’s mark. It felt good. It felt _great_ , in fact, like the heat of the sun against Barry’s skin on an otherwise cold windy day.

Barry lowered his hand to cup Leonard’s face. And when Snart pulled back from the kiss, the movement slower this time, not leaving as drastic a reaction in Barry’s soul, Leonard smiled up at him.

The smile quickly turned into a smirk, though: Barry’s only warning. Leonard pressed back in again for another kiss against Barry’s mark, but this one was not quite so delicate. There was nothing chaste about it; it was raw, wet, hot.

Leonard pressed his tongue flat against Barry’s mark, and Barry trembled, visibly shaking as he gasped for breath. Snart didn’t stop there, and Barry struggled to keep himself together as Leonard traced the lines of his mark – of _their_ mark – on Barry’s skin, pausing only to suck dirty, intense kisses wherever he felt like it.

Barry could feel himself growing hard and straining against his jeans. He imagined how Leonard’s skilled tongue would feel a little further down… God, Barry wanted that. Wanted Snart. Wanted his _mouth_ , snark and all.

He trembled again, but it was longer this time. Deeper. Snart moaned against the sensation, pressing in closer for more, but Barry realised that something was off about that now. This wasn’t normal, this wasn’t him shaking with lust, this was a _vibration_.

And oh, _fuck_ , Barry could _not_ afford to lose control of his powers in front of Leonard Snart! Soulmate or not, Captain Cold was still the Flash’s enemy.

Barry bit down on his bottom lip, balling his hand up into a fist and doing his absolute best to keep his powers at bay. But then Leonard bit a hickey right into the centre of their soulmark on Barry’s hip, and for a moment Barry’s vision just went white.

The vibration that wrecked through his body this time was even more obvious than the last one, pleasure spiking all over his body. He whimpered at the back of his throat, his dick swollen thick and leaking. Leonard hadn’t even touched his cock yet, but Barry knew that he was just one good kiss away on their mark from coming into his pants.

And for a second, Barry didn’t _care_.

He didn’t care how embarrassing it would be to come untouched like that, how much it would make him look like a stupid horny teenager. Barry didn’t even care that he was most definitely going to vibrate so hard that he probably wouldn’t be able to stop again for a good solid minute as he came down from his orgasm.

He didn’t care. But he _had_ to.

“Stop,” Barry whispered when all he wanted to do was beg for _more_.

Leonard did as he was asked right away. But there was a question in his gaze and a frown forming on those moist, pink lips.

 _Fuck_.

Barry had to take a step away because, if he didn’t, then he was just going to join Snart on his knees and kiss him, and that was a little counterintuitive right now.

Unfortunately, taking a step back only made Leonard’s body more visible to Barry, which was both a blessing and a curse right now. A curse, because Barry could see the outline of Snart’s thick hard cock straining erect against his jeans, begging to be touched just as much as Barry’s was. And Barry wanted to. He wanted to tear the rest of Leonard’s clothes off and have his way with him. He wanted to feel that cock slicked up and pressing into him. He wanted it hard and punishing in a way that would leave bruises against Barry’s skin. But he also wanted it softer; wanted to be told with every touch of Leonard’s skin and tongue that this was their forever.

Barry could think of a million different ways that he wanted Leonard Snart right now, which just made it all the worse when he had to take another few steps away to keep himself from going ‘ _fuck it_ ’ and learning what the heavy slope of Leonard’s erection felt like on his tongue.

“You should leave,” Barry said. The words physically hurt as they came out, sharp and scraping against the inside of his lungs and the back of his throat.

“Okay,” Snart nodded, not putting up a fight. And that was good, _great_ even, that Leonard respected Barry’s boundaries. It meant that the criminal he was bonded to had at least one good quality in him. But it also _hurt_ , because Barry didn’t want Snart to go. He yearned to just pull him up by the scruff of his clothes and drag him directly into the bedroom for the next few hours.

But Barry couldn’t do that, no matter how much he wanted to. Not unless he was okay with Snart learning that he was the Flash.

Which he wasn’t.

So, Barry just took another step back, and then another until the back of his legs hit the arm of the sofa. He stood there, still, and watched Snart pull himself to his feet – his erection still thick and full and incredibly visible through his denim jeans – before he turned and left Barry’s apartment without another word.

And then Barry collapsed, throwing himself carelessly onto the sofa behind, his head landing on the pile of clothes that he’d just discarded.

Barry stayed there, eyes screwed up closed, willing away the image of Leonard Snart’s cock from the forefront of his mind. Or, trying to, at least. He wasn’t having much success. Barry shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, his hard-on still very much _on_. Eventually, he sighed and sat up, deciding to go take a shower to clear his head.

He tugged his jeans off and peeled himself out of his briefs, a big wet patch of pre-come sitting front and centre on the offending garment. It only served as a nice little reminder of the sinful acts he and Snart had been getting up to only minutes ago, not that either he or his dick had forgotten about _that_.

Barry made every effort not to touch himself as he undressed and stepped into the shower. But despite his best endeavours, his erection refused to dwindle. It didn’t matter how much concentration he put into his breathing, no matter how cold he turned the water down, nor how much he tried to move his thoughts away from Snart… Barry’s cock stayed full and firm and weeping.

When Barry could take it no more, he pushed his hand down between his thighs and wrapped his fingers around his fat dick. From the moment that Barry touched skin to skin, he was buzzing, literally vibrating with the power of his lust. He watched the pre-come drip from the slit in his head while his cock twitched in his hand.

Barry attempted to keep his mind blank as he worked himself over. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop picturing Leonard Snart kneeling down in front of him. Barry imagined what it would look like to have Snart here now, how he would lick up the length of Barry’s erection. He pictured Snart pretty pink lips wrapping around his cock, gliding up and down, moaning as Barry’s head hit the back of his throat.

Snart would probably be touching himself, taking his own dick out of his pants and working himself closer to completion with the same vigour as he sucked at Barry’s cock. He’d be bobbing his head up and down, rocking his whole body, thrusting his hips into his own hand while his mouth moved back and forth over Barry’s dick.

He’d look up at Barry with those beautiful blue eyes, pupils blown wide, his mouth full of Barry’s cock. And Barry…

Barry came with a cry of Snart’s name, releasing into his own hand. He staggered, out of breath, and accidentally slammed his head against the titled wall – so lost in his fantasy that he’d forgotten he was still just in the shower, alone. Barry cursed and cleaned himself up, trying not to overthink the fact he’d just masturbated to the thought of Captain Cold giving him a blowjob.

Fuck.

That was just _wrong_ on so many levels.

… Or maybe it wasn’t? Because, despite all odds, Leonard Snart really was Barry’s soulmate. He couldn’t blame himself for being attracted to the man.

But it was all just so complicated.

He needed to just lay it all out there, put everything down and figure out what to do. But Barry wasn’t going to be able to do that without some help. He thought about going to talk to Iris again, and then he banged his head against the wall on purpose as he realised that he was absolutely super late to Joe’s house now.

Barry shook his head and turned off the shower, patting his body down with a towel before pulling on his jeans, forgoing the briefs. He was too lazy to go hunt down a clean pair – one that wasn’t half-covered in Barry’s own pre-come – so he just went without. He towel-dried his hair at superspeed as he returned to his living room to pull his shirt and sweater vest combo back on over his head.

But as Barry reached for his clothes, he realised that there was still something else resting beneath them: Snart’s leather jacket.

Barry shook his head clear of any stupid thoughts he might have regarding that jacket, leaving it lying there on the sofa as he pulled his shirt on and fixed his hair. He was out of his apartment door and racing over to Joe’s house only a minute later.

Eddie and Iris’ cars were both still outside, filled with boxes and furniture, so Barry knew that he wasn’t too late to see them off. He didn’t bother knocking on the door as he strode into the house and up to Iris’ room where she, Joe, and Eddie all sat taping up various boxes.

“Barry, what took you so long?” Iris demanded as she saw him in the doorway. “I had to finish packing everything by myself.” At that, Joe gave her a very unimpressed look, while Eddie just laughed and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek.

“Sorry, I had a busy morning,” Barry said. He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. Not with the others around… Barry couldn’t deal with the questions they would undoubtedly have if they found out that he had met his soulmate. But Iris was nearly done packing, and soon she and Eddie would be heading off to their apartment together, so if Barry didn’t speak with her now, he probably wouldn’t get another chance for the rest of the weekend. He needed to get her attention without anyone else in the room understanding what he was talking about. “Yeah, it was really… _cold_ in my apartment today,” he said, stressing the word and silently pleading to Iris to understand.

When her eyes went wide a second later, Barry knew that she got his message loud and clear.

“Has your heating broke?” Eddie asked, having no clue what Barry was _actually_ talking about. But that was for the best here.

“Yep, uh-huh,” Barry nodded. He chewed on his lip, trying to figure out a way to tell Iris what was going on between himself and Snart while still continuing with this broken central heating story.

“You spend more money on that place than it’s worth,” Joe said. He looked like he was going to say something else too, but Iris stood up from the floor and brushed the imaginary dirt from her hands.

“You know, I’m really getting hungry.”

“Don’t worry, babe,” Eddie said. “I’ve got a full spread waiting for us back at our place.” They both grinned when he said ‘ _our place_ ’, but she shook her head anyway.

“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” she said, and Eddie frowned because _clearly_ they were nearly done here. “Plus, you know, Barry makes _the_ best pancakes. You have to try them.” Eddie turned to Joe as though he was going to find back-up there, but Joe just shrugged.

“He does make good pancakes.”

“Yeah, and I can help, just like the good old days.”

“Ah,” Joe grimaced. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, come on. I’m feeling nostalgic.” That was what finally won Eddie over. Joe, too, actually. They both nodded, smiling, so Iris hooked her arm around Barry’s. She rushed him downstairs and into the kitchen, closing the door after them before finally turning to him with the most expectant look on her face. “Tell me everything.”

Barry shrugged, not really sure where to begin. So, he turned to gather the ingredients for breakfast while Iris hopped up onto the island counter and waited.

“He showed up at my apartment this morning,” Barry said, not turning to look at his friend just yet, though he could tell she was sitting on the edge of her seat in anticipation. “I don’t really know how he found out where I live so quickly, but…” Barry shrugged. He stared down into the bag of flour in his hands. “I guess that doesn’t really bother me.” It should. But it didn’t.

“Is he your soulmate?” Iris asked, not able to hold herself back any longer. Barry nodded, blushing as he vividly remembered what had happened when he’d seen Snart’s mark. “Barry Allen,” Iris whispered, sounding scandalised. “Did you sleep with him?”

Barry’s head shot up, his skin getting even hotter still.

“ _What_?” he said, his voice a little too high-pitched to come across as normal. “No!”

“Are you sure about that?” she laughed, and Barry wanted to bury his head into his hands and forget he’d ever come to her for advice.

“It’s just… He…” Barry stuttered, embarrassed. “The connection was more intense than I thought it’d be.” Barry shook his head and got to work on making the pancake batter, needing something to do with his hands to distract himself as his friend continued to laugh in the background.

“Okay, okay,” Iris eventually calmed, her mirth diminishing but not disappearing entirely. “What do you mean by ‘ _intense_ ’?”

Barry shrugged, dipping down into the cupboard to search for Joe’s sieve. “It was… intimate,” he admitted. “Like I was looking at someone who had known me since… since the beginning of time.”

“Yeah,” Iris sighed, sounding lovestruck and happy. “It’s pretty great, huh?”

“Does it ever fade?” Barry asked, turning to face her now.

She shrugged. “Not really. I mean, it changes with time; it adapts as your relationship evolves, but I couldn’t say it actually fades.”

Barry nodded along to that, remembering the classes on it at school. Though it was one thing to be taught something, another thing entirely to _live_ it. And, having majored in chemistry at college, Barry knew that most of what was taught in school regarding science ranged from being not entirely accurate to just flat out lies, and he’d kind of taken everything concerning soulmates with a pinch of salt after realising that.

Barry thought about that, about Leonard, about their newly blossoming relationship as he returned back to the task at hand of making these pancakes.

“I’m assuming your connection with Snart was all rainbows and kittens and baby cherubs singing,” Iris laughed. Barry laughed too, but for a very different reason. He wasn’t surprised that she pictured his connection as being one of blissed-out romance, but in reality, that wasn’t even close to the truth. Iris seemed to recognise that in his laughter because she gasped and grinned. “Oh my God, you _dog_.”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything,” Barry said, raising his hands in the gesture of innocence and accidentally throwing a spoonful of flour over his shoulder in the process.

“You didn’t have to, that smile speaks for itself.”

“Do you think it’s strange?” Barry asked. “That my first connection with Snart was so…” he let the sentence fade off with a vague hand gesture. Too embarrassed to say the word.

“Not at all,” Iris said, shaking her head. The batter was ready to be mixed now, but Barry held off while Iris spoke. “You know, Eddie and I had been sort of seeing each other for a few weeks before I saw his mark and realised that we’re soulmates. We already knew each other and had a relationship growing before we had our first connection.” As she spoke, her gaze became distant, and she started to rub absentmindedly at the space just below her right collarbone where her spiral soulmark lay. “And I think that’s how it happens for most people.

“But it’s different for you, you know? You literally just met the guy.” Well, maybe not _literally_ , but Iris still had no idea that Barry was the Flash, so he couldn’t correct her. “You don’t even call him by his first name. You haven’t been on a date yet, and you really don’t know much about him at all. Of course, your connection would be more physical, because that’s where your relationship is at right now.”

Well, she was right about that one. ‘ _Physical_ ’ certainly described Barry’s previous meetings with Leonard Snart.

And when Barry thought about it like that, he realised that perhaps he should just be thankful that their connection held anything more than rage and contempt. Because the Flash and Captain Cold were about as far from lovers as you could get.

“But that’s not a bad thing,” Iris quickly continued, probably picking up on the tightness of Barry’s jaw and the frown in his eyes. Clearly, she was greatly misreading Barry’s body language. Though Barry couldn’t blame her for that, considering that she was working here with just half of the pieces of the puzzle. “It’s just a beginning. Something for the two of you to build on together.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Barry admitted. But that was only the tip of his problems.

Though, the thing was, Barry couldn’t honestly explain the rest of it to Iris, not without telling her the truth about his identity. And Joe would lose his shit if he did that. Barry sighed and turned the mixer on, beating together all the ingredients into a batter.

“When are you going to tell my dad?” Iris asked once Barry had turned the mixer off and unplugged it again. He just shook his head. “You need to tell him sooner or later, you know.”

“I’m just planning on ‘ _later_ ’…” Barry muttered. The batter was ready now. He would normally let it rest for twenty minutes or so, but he thought that if he took too long down here, Eddie and Joe would come down to check on them, so he just got to heating up a pan instead.

Barry got through making the first couple of pancakes in silence, wincing as he thought about how his foster father would react to the news that Captain Cold was Barry’s soulmate. It wouldn’t be pleasant…

It wasn’t until he’d mounded a small stack, placing each one into the oven on a low heat to keep them warm, that Barry finally felt ready to speak again.

“What do I do if he shows up again?” Barry asked, and Iris – who must have been caught up in her own head – just blinked at him as it took her a moment to place what Barry had asked.

“Screw him,” she said, shrugging, and Barry frowned at the sudden change of pace. Right up until Iris started grinning wildly. “And I mean that literally.”

“Iris, be serious!” Barry complained, adding another pancake to the stack while he shook his head.

“I am serious,” she defended herself. “Go screw him to your heart’s content.” Barry blushed beet red as he imagined doing just that. Just… pushing Leonard Snart down on the nearest flat surface and spending a few hours wrapped up inside his body. It was… It was certainly a _thought_.

He was so caught up in it that he very nearly burnt the next pancake, but he managed to rescue it in time.

“I don’t think having sex with Captain Cold is going to solve the problem that he’s _Captain Cold_ ,” Barry said, shaking his head.

And just how was this his life?

Iris sighed. “Come on, Barr. What do you really want me to say here?” He wanted her to take the decision off his shoulders. But that wasn’t fair, not on her, not on himself, and not on Snart either. “He’s your soulmate, and I can’t tell you how to deal with that. You’re just going to have to figure it out on your own,” she said. “But I’ll be here for you when you need to talk.”

Barry nodded, pouring some more batter onto the hot pan, and watching it sizzle and bubble away.

This whole thing was just one huge complicated mess, but at least he had Iris to lean on.

“How did he escape the transport van, by the way?” she asked suddenly. “I’m writing an article on it for my blog, but getting the right details are tricky. Clearly, he had help from the outside, but I can’t see any record of either him or Rory utilising their phone call.”

“Have you been using Joe’s CCPD login details again to read up on cases?” Barry reprimanded, and Iris shrugged.

“His password is my name,” she said. “If he didn’t want me using his login, then he shouldn’t pick something so easy to guess.” Barry would have fought more about this issue, but he didn’t want to argue now. Iris was never going to stop writing about the Flash, and Barry didn’t want to push her away again over it. She shouldn’t be using Joe’s login to dig up information – it wasn’t exactly legal – but they’d done it plenty as kids when playing detective trying to solve Barry’s mum’s case, and any other bizarre incidents they heard about. Iris knew what she was doing; she was smart enough to do it without getting Joe in trouble. “So, how’d he do it?”

“I don’t know,” Barry admitted. He hadn’t been at the crime scene, nor anywhere close to the precinct since Snart was driven away in that van, so Barry hadn’t heard anything from other cops or CSIs. And as for Leonard… “I didn’t ask him.”

Iris frowned as though she didn’t believe that answer, and Barry averted his gaze back to the pancakes.

“What did you two talk about?” she asked, sounding suspicious.

Barry shrugged as casually as he could manage. “Just, you know… general stuff.”

“So, favourite book, shows, movies? Any siblings or pets? That kind of thing.” Barry nodded. “And?” Iris pressed. Barry chewed on his lip, pretending to be too wrapped up in cooking to hear her. “What’s his favourite book, Barry?”

“It’s… erm… you know, the one with the…” Barry scratched at the back of his neck. “With the people.”

“Oh my god,” Iris laughed. “I can’t believe you met your soulmate and just immediately tried to jump his bones without even _talking_ to him!”

“Hey, that is not what happened,” Barry defended himself, waving the spatula around with a little too much zeal and nearly knocking the mixing bowl over in the process, leading to him accidentally splattering pancake batter all over the side, his hands, and even up against his cheek.

“You are such a hot mess,” Iris laughed, and Barry just sighed as he cleaned himself and the side up before returning to the stove. He’d kind of forgotten about the pancake which was already in the pan and that one definitely _had_ burnt, but Iris stopped him from throwing it away, more than happy to just smother it with an artery-clogging amount of syrup and eat it right then and there.

Barry only rolled his eyes and returned to cooking. The pancake batter was almost all gone now, but he still had so much on his mind.

“Do you think it’s a snowflake?”

“Hmm?” Iris asked around her mouthful of pancake. Barry was spinning the ladle around in the mixing bowl, frowning.

“My soulmark,” he told her, picturing it now. Picturing it on Leonard’s skin. “I always thought it was a flower.”

Iris nodded. “Yeah, I remember. We went through every flower shop in Central trying to find one with the right petals to match it.”

“We ended up with a list of names two pages long,” Barry laughed, having forgotten about that entirely. But then his smile fell. “But nothing ever quite felt right.”

“So, you think it’s a snowflake?” she asked, and Barry shrugged. “That wouldn’t be such a bad sign. Snowflakes symbolise uniqueness, serenity, purity –” Barry snorted at that one. Leonard Snart was anything but _pure_ “– knowledge,” Iris continued, undeterred, while Barry returned his attention back to the cooker before the batter could burn. “And I’m sure that there will be a lot more _positive_ connotations which do not mean your relationship is doomed.”

“Yeah,” Barry muttered, flipping the pancake over, “or it could mean cold and fleeting, and that our connection is devoid of any real emotion.”

“From what you told me, the two of you are already getting pretty steamy,” Iris smiled, and Barry blushed. “So, cold probably isn’t the word I would use to describe your relationship with Leonard Snart.”

“Just because he wants to have sex with me doesn’t mean our relationship won’t be cold.”

“And just because he’s a criminal doesn’t mean that it _will_ be,” Iris insisted, and Barry knew that she was right; just because Leonard Snart was Captain Cold didn’t mean that his heart was made of ice. In fact, Snart had already opened up to Barry in the little time that they’d shared together, but how could Barry really know how much of that was real?

He didn’t know if he could genuinely trust anything that Snart had done or said this past twelve hours because, well… it had only been _twelve hours_! And before that, Snart had been trying to kill him.

How could Barry be sure of a guy like that who he barely even knew?!

Barry didn’t have any answers there. He shook his head and scooped the pancake up out of the pan before adding in a little more grease and the last of the batter.

“Barry…” Iris sighed, sounding concerned. “Is this really something you think might be true? Or are you just coming up with reasons not to want him?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, staring down into the pan and watching the batter bubble. “I guess I just didn’t expect it to be like this. I thought…” Barry’s words ran quiet, but Iris understood.

“You wanted the fairy-tale.”

She wasn’t mocking him; she wasn’t calling him a girl’s name or saying he was immature. She understood. And that was maybe worse. Because the truth was, Iris _had_ that; she had the fairy-tale with her prince charming. She and Eddie were pretty darn perfect for each other, and as happy as Barry had ever seen any couple be.

Barry would never have that with Snart.

Even if they found happiness together, the fact that he was a criminal would always get in the way.

“Hey, look, you two may be a little unconventional, but you can still have something real together,” Iris said, her voice soft and reassuring as she placed her hand on Barry’s shoulder. Barry nodded, though he wasn’t sure if he truly meant it; he just felt a little numb to it all. Instead of delving too deep into that, Barry put all of his attention onto the last pancake sizzling away, flipping it and gently patting away the air bubbles. But Iris kept talking: “I mean, hey, if that donkey from Shrek can make things work with an actual dragon, then you and Snart will be fine.”

Barry couldn’t help but laugh at that. Perhaps it was a bit manically, but in the end, it helped to relieve the tightness forming in his chest, so it was worth it. He shook his head and turned the burner off, slipping the last pancake on top of the pile he’d formed.

“By the way,” Barry said as he picked the plate up. Iris had everything else all ready to go as they moved towards the doorway together. “I’m going to pretend that I’m the dragon in that scenario.”

“No, you’re definitely the donkey.”

“Can’t hear you,” Barry said, kicking the kitchen door open and rushing out – perhaps using just a _touch_ of superspeed to keep ahead of his friend as she laughed in the distance.

“What are you two giggling about?” Joe asked as he and Eddie both came down the stairs, carrying a large box between them which they settled down on the floor at the sight of food.

“Iris suggested putting ketchup on the pancakes again,” Barry said, an excuse at the ready, and Joe grimaced. Iris looked like she would have swatted Barry on the shoulder if she didn’t have her hands full, so Barry quickly dodged out of the way after settling the plateful of pancakes down on the table.

“Come on, that was an accident!” she defended. “And it was like ten years ago.”

“It was two years,” Barry whispered to Eddie. “You should seriously keep an eye on her when she’s in the kitchen.”

“Yeah, I’ve already learnt from that mistake…” Eddie whispered back, pulling a face which made Barry laugh. Iris just rolled her eyes and pretended she couldn’t hear them.

They sat down together and ate then, piling pancakes up high and adorning them with a range of syrups. It was comfortable, like being with family. Joe and Iris basically _were_ Barry’s family, he supposed, but Eddie was much newer to the mix. However, he fit into it as well as he could, and it was almost easy to believe he had known them for all his life.

It would never be like this if Barry brought Leonard around for lunch.

Barry struggled not to think about that, though, he tried to just enjoy his afternoon without throwing his disastrous soulmate into the mix. Once the food was all gone, Barry helped the others to take the last of Iris’ things out to her car, and then they said goodbye.

Iris hugged Joe first, the two of them both getting a little misty-eyed, and then she hugged Barry too, whispering “See you later, Donkey” into his ear before pulling away. Barry would have groaned if it wouldn’t have brought up questions from Eddie and Joe. He was sure though that ‘ _Donkey_ ’ was going to become his new nickname, and Barry wasn’t looking forward to that.

Barry watched Iris and Eddie pull away from the curb outside, then he turned to Joe.

“I should probably get going too,” he said. “I haven’t visited Caitlin yet since…” since his soulmate had kidnapped her and strapped her to a live bomb, “since we got her back. I might drop in on her to make sure she’s okay.” And he also wanted a little time alone to get his head screwed on straight. But Joe was looking undeniably sad after sending Iris off, and Barry felt awful about leaving him by himself. “Wanna come?”

“Go on without me,” Joe said, shaking his head. “Give Caitlin my best.”

Barry nodded. “Will do.” And then he left the house. Not at superspeed, though. Barry needed all the time to think that he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying telling it :D
> 
> PS. 'Soulmates, Soulmarks, and Supervillains' _so_ should have been the title for this fic, but I only just realised how much better it was as I was doing my final read-through on this chapter :(


	3. Chapter 3

When Barry got home that night after a long day of training and avoidance, he was so tired that he just devoured all of the food in his fridge and went straight to bed. It wasn’t until the next morning when he was up getting ready for work that he remembered about the soft leather jacket taking up space on his couch.

Barry stared at the thing as though it was going to grow legs and bite him. It was a tangible reminder of all the things that Barry had been trying to avoid yesterday, all the feelings screwed up into a tight ball which Barry was nowhere close to having unravelled. It was a reminder that yesterday was real, that Snart had been here, that he’d been on his knees in front of Barry, hard and straining in his pants.

Yep. Like Barry said, a big mess of feelings right there, and Barry couldn’t tell where one string ended and another began. He couldn’t lay it all out straight and figure out which one was the dominating mess. It was just…

It was too much.

Part of Barry yearned to slip the jacket on over his shoulders, to inhale the scent of sandalwood which clung to Leonard Snart’s skin and clothes, to wear it proudly – daringly – even at the precinct.

Another part of Barry just wanted to throw the thing into the trash – if only to prevent him from making such a stupid mistake as wearing his criminal soulmate’s clothes to work.

Instead, he chose the third option and just left it there, untouched but in no way forgotten, on his sofa.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop Barry from being reminded of Leonard Snart more and more with every step he took into the precinct. At first, it was because he realised he was walking the same path that Leonard had on Saturday night, taking the same steps through the building and up to the bullpen as the officers who’d lead Snart and Rory up here had.

And then Barry got to the exact place where he’d been standing when Snart had seen his soulmark, the precise spot where everything had changed. As Barry looked to the left, he saw the interrogation room where he and Snart had first had their first _real_ conversation, and to his right, Barry saw the door down to the holding cell where Leonard had revealed the truth.

Snart was everywhere that Barry looked.

And that was even before he got up to his lab and discovered the workload surrounding Snart and Rory’s escape had been passed on to _him_.

 _Barry_ was going to have to hunt down his _soulmate_.

And that… that brought up more questions, more dilemmas, because Barry had more information on Snart than anyone else did in this station. He knew where Leonard had been just yesterday morning, he knew a sure-fire way to draw him out and arrest him. But to tell anyone that, to use himself as bait to catch Captain Cold, would do irreparable damage to their relationship.

Barry would be saying sayonara to ever having any kind of contact with his soulmate.

And then there were the issues that working this case would present for Barry’s job.

Iris was right, they couldn’t arrest or fire him for having a criminal as a soulmate; they couldn’t do anything to persecute Barry for that without looking at one hell of a lawsuit for soulmate discrimination. But if Barry kept on working on Snart’s cases, it would be a clear violation of CCPD policy and a conflict of interest. So, if their connection ever got out, it would mean that any conviction Snart received would be almost immediately overturned, and any evidence that Barry had so much as looked at would be disregarded as contaminated.

And Barry _could_ get fired for that.

He could go to jail for it.

Barry didn’t know what he was going to do about his relationship with Leonard Snart, and he wished that he could have a little more time to figure it out before he had to speak with anyone – except Iris, of course – about it.

But his time was already up.

Barry dropped the file he’d been holding back onto his desk, stood up, and walked directly down to his Police Captain’s office. His heart raced harder and heavier with each step he took, and by the time that Barry knocked on Singh’s open door, he felt about ready to throw up.

“You’re on time for once,” Captain Singh said in the way of acknowledgement, and Barry laughed nervously as he stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. That raised Singh’s suspicions up high, making him frown. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to be taken off the Leonard Snart case,” Barry said, hoping Singh would agree to it with no questions asked.

But when was Barry’s life ever that easy?

“Sorry, Allen,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I know it’s a lot to start with first thing on a Monday morning, but you were the lead CSI on the previous cases involving Snart and his cold gun, so we’re going to need your help on this one.” Barry didn’t know what his face looked like right then, but it must have been a little worrying because Singh’s expression softened. “If your workload is too high, then I can look at reassigning some of your other cases.”

“That’s…” Barry trailed off and shook his head. This had nothing to do with his workload, but he didn’t know how to even _begin_ explaining the truth.

He took a seat then at the opposite side of the desk, and Singh leant forward, frowning deeper.

“What is it?”

Barry could barely make eye contact, choosing to instead look down at his hands, feeling as though he was in interrogation right now.

He probably looked about as guilty as they come.

But drawing this thing out wasn’t making it any easier, nor was it giving him a way out. So, Barry just raised his head again and bit the bullet.

“Leonard Snart’s my soulmate.”

The look on Singh’s face would have been comical if it hadn’t been directed Barry’s way.

Credit to the man, though, he was able to push that all back down again, almost instantly returning to his professional façade. He cleared his throat, shifting a little on his seat and squaring up more as though he was preparing for a fight. Not one with Barry, per se, just with the information that was about to be dumped on his shoulders.

Barry would have felt bad for him, but he was too busy feeling sorry for himself to muster up any of that feeling for someone else. Singh may have to deal with this now, but at least when he got home tonight, he would be greeted by his loving, law-abiding soulmate and fiancé.

That wasn’t exactly the case for Barry, though.

“How long have you known?” Singh finally asked, and Barry tensed up.

He hadn’t known for sure that Snart was his soulmate until yesterday, but to admit that would be to admit having contact with Leonard after he’d escaped his prison transport… Not that that mattered, though. Barry didn’t need to go into detail about where they’d met, or when, or what had happened. He had soulmate privileges; he couldn’t be compelled to give evidence against Snart unless he wanted to.

And right now, Barry didn’t know whether he did or didn’t.

“He saw my soulmark on Saturday night when he was being led to holding,” Barry said, but he couldn’t leave it at that. Not when he knew full well that he’d taken swabs of under Snart’s nails for evidence after their supposed first meeting. That evidence probably wouldn’t lead to much, but he didn’t want his confession to taint it… just in case. “But he didn’t tell me about that until just before he got led off to Iron Heights.”

Barry didn’t mention that Snart never made it to prison, but it hung over the conversation, unspoken but loud and overt.

Singh must have known there was more to the story, must have read it on Barry’s face, because he waited. Silent. Unmoving.

“But I didn’t know for sure until…”

“Until?” Singh prompted when Barry found the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat.

“Until I saw him yesterday.”

Singh was undeniably tense. “After he broke out of prison transport?” Barry could only nod his head, yes. “How? Where?”

And here it was, the moment of truth. Could Barry really give up his soulmate?

It should be an easy question; Snart had murdered people right in front of Barry’s eyes. He’d landed several of Barry’s colleagues in the hospital last week. He’d tried to _kill_ Barry, live on TV.

Barry had devoted his whole life to stopping men like Leonard Snart.

But this wasn’t just any criminal that Barry was talking about. It was his _soulmate_.

And Barry… he kind of liked Leonard. He did. Even before he’d found out about their soulmarks, he’d been happy enough to sit in that interrogation room and talk with him. He’d used the excuse of trying to gather more evidence when he’d gone down to the holding cell afterwards, but he’d always known he wasn’t going to gain any actual evidence from their talk. Barry had pretended – even to himself – that he could, but deep down, he had known he wouldn’t.

He’d gone down there because, despite everything that had happened on Saturday, Barry had been honestly intrigued and interested in Leonard. Barry had gone down there to speak to him, not because he’d needed to, but because he’d _wanted_ to.

And so now, Barry just shook his head.

Singh sighed and sat back again, knowing that he couldn’t force Barry to give Snart up.

“Okay,” he said. “You are not legally obligated to give us evidence against Leonard Snart or any of his crimes, and I cannot persuade you to change your mind. I’ll come with you to your lab to pick up any evidence or casefiles you have against him, and it will all be passed on to another CSI.” His voice was calm and official, his words carefully chosen, though Barry doubted he’d ever had to deal with a sensitive issue quite like this one before. “I will have to report this to Internal Affairs,” he said apologetically, and Barry’s stomach dropped.

It made sense that they’d have to do an investigation to make sure what Barry was saying was the truth, but his life – both at work and at home – could really do without the scrutiny. He had too many secrets to want IA on his ass. But Barry would just have to suck it up and deal with it

“Joe doesn’t know,” he said when Singh began to stand up. “ _No one_ knows, actually.” No one but himself, Snart, and Iris. And now Singh, of course. And soon a caseworker or two in IA…

That was fewer people than who knew Barry’s secret identity as the Flash, but that knowledge didn’t stop Barry from feeling as though it was getting out of control.

“I can assure you that this conversation and the investigation as a whole will be kept entirely confidential,” Singh said, not sitting down again but instead choosing to lean forward against the desk separating them. “Whether you do or do not tell anyone else is your choice.” Though the way he said it sounded as though he disapproved of Barry’s decision to keep this from his family. Despite that, though, he looked as though he understood, that he could at the very least empathise with Barry’s situation.

Barry nodded but didn’t say anything as he stood, and they made the awkward walk up to his lab. Barry had to wait in the doorway as Singh gathered up all of the evidence linked to Leonard Snart or Mick Rory or anyone else who could seemingly be associated with Captain Cold. His cases were going to be closely monitored from now on, and Barry had no idea how long it would last for or whether they’d go as far as putting him under surveillance. It could be months like this, could be years…

The investigation wouldn’t stop until they were entirely satisfied with what they found. Even if Barry changed his mind and decided to turn Snart in, it wouldn’t be enough to keep them from looking into his work.

No matter which route he chose, he was sure to be in for a stressful time of it.

It took Singh about twenty minutes in total before he was happy that he’d got all of the work he needed, but as he was moving past Barry in the doorway, he paused.

“It took a lot of courage to tell me the truth,” he said, “but you’ve done the right thing.” Barry nodded. It wasn’t going to be fun being watched so closely – wasn’t going to make his duties as the Flash any easier – but it was definitely the better option here. Barry had no doubt about that. “My door’s always open,” Singh said finally before he turned and left the lab.

Barry stared at the pile of what was left of today’s workload, feeling nervous. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes now; everything had to be done entirely by the book. That thought shouldn’t have made him worried, but Barry could admit that his habits had slipped ever since he’d become the Flash.

Hell, he had people locked up in an illegal prison for Christ’s sake!

 _Barry Allen_ stuck to regulations, but _the Flash_ made his own rules, and that needed to end.

With a sigh, he got to work. It was a slow day in the end; with Joe and Eddie both off, no one really came up to speak to him except when they were desperate for test results. He wasn’t about to complain about that though, because this way gave Barry a little bit of time to prepare for when he had to speak with Joe about why he wasn’t on Snart’s case anymore.

At least for now, Barry had no one bugging him with questions that he just _couldn’t_ answer.

When his workday came to an end, Barry packed his stuff up and left the building. It was late, he’d had a long ten-hour shift and ended up working into the evening, long after the winter sun had set on Central City. Barry pulled up the collar on his coat as he made his way through the street; he headed towards the alleyway which he would usually duck into to avoid being seen as he raced away at superspeed, though whether Barry would be able to keep doing that, he couldn’t say. Once IA was here, they very well might start tailing him in hopes of tracking down Snart faster, so using his superpowers to get to and from work was out of the question.

And the more Barry thought about that, the more he felt as though he was already being watched, as though he was being followed.

Barry became stiff and alert, questioning everything. Every noise he heard, every person he saw on the street. He was approaching the alleyway now, but Barry didn’t know if he’d be able to turn down it, didn’t know if he could risk using his powers.

But then Barry made eye contact with a man leaning against a shop window, smirking at him, and his feet stuttered to a stop.

“Snart!” he said, surprised. He couldn’t believe Leonard had actually come here, waiting only a few blocks away from the precinct! Barry cast a quick glance over his shoulder, but the street was mostly empty now; no one had been following him after all. It had been _Snart’s_ eyes he’d felt on him. “What are you–”

“Len,” the criminal interrupted, and it pulled Barry to a halt. He just blinked back until Snart gave him a small, genuine, smile. “I want you to call me Len.”

“Len...” Barry said, testing the name out on his tongue. It sent a chill down his spine, but in a good way; it felt so much more intimate. Barry shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and get back on track. “What are you doing here?” He was surprised to hear the earlier anger in his voice had instead been replaced with worry, concern about Snart – about _Len_ – getting caught out here and arrested again.

Barry shouldn’t be worried about a criminal getting rightly arrested, and yet he was.

“I wanted to see you again,” Len said. His words were smooth and carefully chosen, Barry was sure. But after he’d said them, Leonard began to frown. “But after last time, I figured that you’d prefer it to be in public.”

Barry didn’t prefer it this way, not in the slightest. Seeing Snart again now only reminded Barry of how _good_ it had felt to be in those arms, to be on the receiving end of that tongue… Barry wanted to just pick right back up again where they’d left off. But he knew that they couldn’t.

“Right,” Barry nodded. “Maybe… maybe that’s for the best. For the time being.”

Leonard nodded. He seemed a little relieved that Barry wasn’t just telling him to leave again, and that realisation made Barry’s heart beat a little faster.

Iris had been right yesterday; Barry _did_ want the fairy tale. He wanted a soulmate who he could connect with instantly and, surprisingly enough, it actually seemed as though he’d got that in Leonard. There was so much wrong about their relationship; but this, at least, worked. He liked Len, and Len liked him, and maybe that was enough for now.

“Do you have any dinner plans?” Len asked, and Barry’s heart gave another little skip in his chest. Leonard Snart was asking him out; his _soulmate_ was asking him out!

It wasn’t like that came as any kind of surprise, considering their latest interactions – which were the only times that Len thought they’d met – had been going pretty well. But still, Barry could barely believe it. He’d spent all day agonising over his shared mark with Leonard Snart, reminding himself that the man was a criminal… but now that they were together again, all common sense flew out the window.

“Yeah,” Barry nodded. But then Len began to look a little disappointed, and Barry thought back over the question, realising that he’d jumped the gun a bit. “I mean _no_ ,” Barry was quick to correct. “I mean... I’m free if you are.” God, he was an embarrassment.

But Len didn’t seem to mind.

“There’s an Italian place not too far from here that I’ve been meaning to check out,” Len offered. It was a nice suggestion. But Barry, it seemed, really was an awkward mess tonight, and he couldn’t help but make a joke.

“By ‘check out’, you don’t mean rob, right?” he laughed. It wasn’t actually funny, and he regretted it almost instantly, but Len shrugged it off well enough.

“Depends on the service.”

Barry’s smile felt a little more genuine after that joke. He wasn’t relaxed, not in the slightest, but he did feel marginally better for it.

“I like Italian food,” Barry nodded, finally saying what he _should_ have done to begin with; what he would have said if he was any normal human being on this planet. What he would have said if Snart didn’t make him so damn nervous.

Whether that was a good nervous or a bad nervous, though, Barry was struggling to tell.

Probably both.

“Lead the way?” Barry asked, making an awkward gesture. But Len didn’t mention it as he turned to start walking, nodding his head for Barry to follow.

The walk there was short enough, but it was awkward.

Barry didn’t often walk anywhere anymore; he would walk only long enough to duck in at a nearby alley and then speed away. The only time Barry ever walked anywhere was when he was with Eddie or Iris – the only two people in his life who didn’t know his secret identity.

Except, now Leonard was being added to that list too because Len was officially in his life now. Not as an enemy, but as someone who Barry was supposed to trust and rely on. As his soulmate.

Ever since Barry woke up with super speed, he had wondered how he would deal with confessing his secret when he met his soulmate. It was a hell of a big secret to keep from someone who you were supposed to be wholeheartedly committed to. Barry knew from the start that he’d never keep it from his soulmate for long. But figuring out exactly when to tell them was a question he was still struggling with. If he left it too long to fess up, he would risk offending his soulmate, but how soon was too soon? The first date was surely too early to spill the beans, but Barry had always imagined it that way anyway. He had imagined that once he’d met _the one_ , he’d fall in love so quickly that keeping _anything_ a secret from them would be out of the question. He imagined that he would trust them so unwaveringly that it wouldn’t matter anymore. Because that was just what true love was like.

Except, Barry had never anticipated that his soulmate would be one of the criminals that he had been trying to lock away.

And that was complicated in so many different ways. Because Len as a person seemed pretty great, actually. He was funny, smart, thoughtful, dazzling gorgeous... He was exactly the kind of guy that Barry would have wanted as his soulmate. But you couldn’t just extract Len from Captain Cold. He had to deal with the fact that his amazing soulmate just so happened to be a man who had tried to kill him on multiple occasions, and along the way Len had kidnapped one of Barry’s best friends, derailed an entire train, and – oh yeah – _killed_ a man in cold blood.

How could Barry tell his secret to a man like that?

How could Barry _ever_ trust Leonard Snart?

“You look conflicted,” Leonard said, and Barry realised that his soulmate had been watching him all throughout his internal dilemma.

“How would you know that?” Barry muttered, feeling frustrated. “You don’t even know me.”

“Not for lack of effort,” Len said, and that made Barry feel instantly terrible because it was true; Len was the one putting all of the effort in here. But he didn’t allow Barry to stew in that for too long. Instead, he moved on to explain: “You keep trying to look at me and then looking away again. And not in a flirty way.”

“I...” Barry shook his head. “I don’t know how this is going to work.” He felt a little sick at the admission.

Len, however, sounded completely casual as he said: “Me neither.”

Barry stared at him, frowning. “I don’t know, you look like you have everything worked out.”

“I don’t.” It was a simple statement, but the way Len spoke it gave the words meaning, made them feel as though they were ripped right from the bottom of his stomach.

They felt personal.

Len paused in his steps so that he could hold Barry’s gaze again. “Barry, for the first time in a _very_ long time, I’m working without a plan here. I didn’t expect to meet you the other night, especially not in a precinct as a cop –”

“– A CSI,” Barry corrected, but then shook his head and motioned for Len to continue.

“I didn’t expect to like you as much as I do,” he said, and his words gave Barry butterflies. “I may look suave and in cool as a cucumber, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Barry laughed. “Did that hurt to admit?”

“A little,” Len shrugged, and Barry laughed some more. Though mock-boasting and terrible puns aside… Len really did seem to be speaking from the heart right now, and that made Barry feel a little better about his own cluelessness.

It didn’t help to resolve the issue any, though.

“Our lifestyles are completely unsuited for each other,” Barry said. And the worst part was that it was entirely true… If Barry and Len actually suited each other that way, then Barry wouldn’t have been put under investigation for nothing more than having Len as his soulmate.

Leonard nodded.

“I know that.” But he didn’t. Len didn’t understand the full scope of the issue because he didn’t know Barry’s secret. And that was part of the problem. “Look, whether or not this is going to work out, I want to get to know you. But if you don’t want the same... that’s your call to make,” Len continued, his voice sounding a little rough around the edges. “Just tell me to back off and I will.”

And he would. Barry didn’t know much about Leonard Snart, but he could tell the man was being honest right now. If Barry didn’t want to see him again, he didn’t have to – except when he saw Cold as the Flash, that is; but Leonard couldn’t control that if he didn’t know about it.

But this…

Len _would_ back off if Barry told him to, just like he’d left last night with no questions asked. Leaving behind that leather jacket which Barry had been so tempted to wear today, which he was now _exceptionally_ happy that he’d chosen against putting on this morning because running into Len right now while wearing it would have been _awkward_.

But perhaps Barry’s eagerness to have something of Len’s – to keep it close to his skin – was everything he needed to answer the question.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said, and he swore that he saw Len’s shoulders deflate a little in relief. “I want to get to know you too. It’s just…” Barry sighed. “God it would just be so much easier if we could leave the Captain Cold stuff at the door.”

“We could try...” Something about Len’s tone of voice told Barry he didn’t have very high hopes for that plan, though. And, truthfully, neither did Barry.

Barry shook his head.

“Then how about we just have dinner, and we can figure everything else out as we go?” Len said, and Barry nodded. It wasn’t going to be easy, but they needed to try.

No, that wasn’t quite right. They didn’t _need_ to do anything… Like Len had said, Barry could just call it quits right here and now if he wanted to. So could Len. They didn’t _need_ to make things work between then, but they both wanted it to.

So, Len started walking again, and Barry followed beside him.

He felt suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands, conscious of them in a way he normally wasn’t when he walked. He shoved them in his pockets, but that just felt awkward.

It was easy to tell that the reason he felt uncomfortable had nothing to do with his hands, though, and everything to do with the crushing weight of their reality.

“Any siblings?” Barry asked to break the silence, and Leonard nodded.

“A sister, Lisa,” Len said, though he didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate further. “You?”

“Not exactly,” Barry shrugged, and Len turned to quirk an eyebrow at him, reading that there was a story there. He didn’t ask for it, though, not verbally. Len understood that there could very well be a lot of secrets between them for a while. But, well, Len already knew about what happened with Barry’s dad, so where was the harm in telling him a little more of the story? “After my mum died and my dad went to prison, I was fostered by a family friend,” he said, a little unsure about bringing Joe’s name into the conversation. Len would find out eventually, but perhaps tonight wasn’t the right time to tell him that his foster dad is a detective. “He has a daughter, and we grew up together but… we just don’t see each other that way.”

AKA, Barry had a huge unrequited crush on Iris for half his life and had only managed to really get over it once he woke up from his coma and found out she was with Eddie, her soulmate. And now here Barry was with _his_ … though the situation felt wildly different.

“Iris is my best friend, though.”

“Then I’d like to meet her one day,” Len said as though it was just that easy. Barry didn’t answer and only smiled tightly as they arrived at the restaurant together. Len opened the door for Barry to step through first and Barry, again, couldn’t quite tell if it was romantic or awkward.

Len stepped up to the maître d’ and revealed that he’d booked a table for them. Apparently, they were a little early, but the table was already free, so they were seated quickly anyway.

“What if I didn’t like Italian?” Barry asked after the waiter gave them menus, took their drinks order, and walked away. Len shrugged.

“Then I couldn’t date you,” he said. “I’m sorry, but that’s just weird.”

Barry laughed. “Nice to know where you draw the line.”

Len was smiling again, and Barry was struck by how gorgeous he looked when he smiled. Well, he was always gorgeous, but even more so now than ever before. Perhaps that was because they were actually _here_ , sitting at a table, on a _date_.

The Flash and Captain Cold on a date… Jeez, it was ludicrous.

But it felt right.

After a moment, Len leant forward on the table, closer to Barry as though he was going to reveal a secret.

“I actually had a table booked in a few different places,” he admitted, “so you could have whatever you wanted.” That thought made Barry smile even more. It sounded like exactly the kind of nervous and over-eager thing that he would do, and it was kind of cute to know that his soulmate was the same.

“Well, in that case, let’s go get Chinese instead,” Barry laughed, and Len shrugged as though he didn’t mind. He probably wouldn’t. He was surprisingly patient, which was good because Barry didn’t see his own emotional turmoil magically disappearing anytime soon. He imagined that once they were apart again, Barry would start doubting everything once more.

The waiter was back with their drinks then – a bottle of red wine between them – and took their order. Barry had chicken and pasta, Len had a vegetarian pizza, and that made Barry self-conscious about his own choice.

“Are you vegetarian?” he asked, leaning forward on the table against once the waiter left the table. Len didn’t seem to have an issue with Barry’s choice of dinner, but he didn’t want to accidentally offend his soulmate on their first date. However, Len shook his head.

“I’m Jewish,” he said, “so vegetarian dishes are usually my best bet when I’m out.” Barry nodded, feeling a little more relaxed by that.

“I don’t know how you do it,” he admitted. “I have zero self-control when it comes to what I eat.” Granted, that had a lot to do with how Barry was _always_ hungry… observing any kind of strict diet as a speedster would be difficult for just about anyone.

“Well, it helps that my father _didn’t_ care about eating kosher,” Len said. His words were stiff, and Barry could tell they were carefully chosen. He remembered Len acting a similar way when he’d brought up his father in the precinct, too, and it was blatantly obvious that they didn’t get along. Barry wanted to ask, but he didn’t know how well his questions would be welcomed right now. “My sister and I decided to give it a go when we were young,” he shrugged, “and it worked for us, so we kept it up.”

“You’re close to your sister then?” Barry asked, taking a sip from his wine. It was strong and sweet, and Barry just wished that it could have any kind of effect on him. He would love to be able to get a little drunk tonight; not enough that he would make a fool out of himself in front of his soulmate, but enough that he could just loosen up a little and relax.

Leonard shrugged. “We definitely have our ups and downs… but I guess it would be strange if we didn’t.” Barry laughed at that. Like he’d said earlier, he didn’t think of Iris as his sister; but they’d grown up together from a young enough age that Barry knew all too well the kinds of stunts that siblings did just to taunt one another.

Thinking of Leonard Snart pulling tricks on his sister in the same way that Barry had done to Iris was… _humanising_. It made him look a little less like a criminal who Barry had fought to take down, and a little more like a real man who Barry could connect with.

“But, yes,” Len continued.

“She doesn’t care that you’re a criminal?”

Len laughed in surprise, shaking his head.

“Considering that Lisa is as bad as I am,” he said, shaking his head. “I doubt it.”

“I probably should have guessed that,” Barry laughed, not feeling as awkward about it as he would have thought. Though, he could tell it could quickly become uncomfortable again if Barry let it. So, he _didn’t_. “Who followed in who’s footsteps?” he asked instead, hoping to keep the conversation going. Len seemed surprised by the question, but not at all unhappy.

“Lisa’s the youngest; I tried to keep her out of this life but,” he shook his head, “she’s just stubborn that way.”

“You didn’t want her to be a criminal?” Barry asked, feeling a little surprised by it. Len shrugged, though it didn’t seem entirely casual.

“I wanted her to have more options than I did,” he admitted, and Barry nodded. A criminal lifestyle was by no means an easy one. Depending on how much younger Lisa was than her brother, it was very possible Len had already been battered by that whirlpool long before she had started to dip her toes into it. Barry could understand why he might not want his sister to go through the same challenges he had. “Don’t look at me like that, Barry,” Len drawled. “I’m not about to turn coats any time soon.”

Barry blushed, feeling guilty. He hadn’t been purposefully considering whether or not Len might want to give up his life of crime in the near future, but the thought had crossed his mind.

Still…

“You’d never consider it? Not ever?”

“Would you consider being a criminal?” Len countered, and Barry pouted playfully.

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“So, are you,” Len easily rebutted. “Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours.” He was grinning at Barry, wide and mischievous, and his eyes were twinkling with it. “I pinkie promise.”

Barry laughed and shook his head; not at Len’s question, just at _him_. He was one of the most sarcastic people Barry had ever met… But Barry didn’t actually think he was joking about this one. He _would_ answer if Barry did.

But Barry didn’t really _want_ to answer his question, because the truthful answer wasn’t as pure as he would have liked. And that was just too deep for a first date, right? Except, this wasn’t just an ordinary first date, it was a date between soulmates, between a CSI and a crook, a superhero and a villain.

It was a date between Barry Allen and Leonard Snart, and they were about as far from ordinary as a couple could get.

So…

“I didn’t have an easy childhood,” he said, though Len already knew that. He knew all about what happened to Barry’s parents – the watered-down version, at least, which involved a complete lack of speedsters – so this couldn’t come as a surprise. “And I might have… _possibly_ … planned a way to break my dad out of prison.”

That seemed to surprise Len. He leant forward on the table.

“And how detailed, exactly, was this plan?” he asked, and Barry rolled his eyes.

“If you’re asking for pointers, you can forget it,” he joked, not wanting to reveal how many years he put into perfecting it. He’d spent enough time memorising the layout of Iron Heights that – even to this day – he could still close his eyes and picture it. He knew the ins and outs of that prison like the back of his hand.

Len grinned. “So, it _is_ a workable plan, then?” Barry didn’t answer that, but he didn’t have to. His face was probably answer enough on its own. “You ever been tempted by anything else?”

“Once or twice,” Barry shrugged, taking a sip of wine in hopes that he wouldn’t have to elaborate. The truth was, he’d given into a fair few of those temptations… like becoming a vigilante, and locking his enemies up without trial, as well as some lesser crimes which Barry was no more willing to confess to. He put the glass back on the table and remembered then that he wasn’t the only one who had been asked a difficult question tonight. He sat forward and locked eyes with Len expectantly.

Len’s smile fell a little. “I’m not exactly a hero…” There was a ‘but’ coming though, Barry could _feel_ it. “And I need you to know that I am no more likely to become one than you are to follow through with your plan to break your old man out of the Heights.” Barry nodded. He waited. “But I do have a few rules; some lines that I’m not willing to cross. And I’ve been tempted to turn on those who do.”

“What kind of rules?” Barry prodded, but Len shook his head. “Oh, come on! I told you about my plans for Iron Heights.”

“Ah, but you didn’t tell me _what_ the plan actually is.”

“Like you need help breaking out of prison,” Barry scoffed. After all, Len had only two days ago broken out of custody himself. Granted he was only en route to prison at that point, not actually behind bars yet, but it was still quite a feat.

Len shrugged, grinning. “It doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan.”

The waiter came back to the table with their meals then, and Barry was reminded that they were actually in public, talking about committing crimes as though it was the weather. Barry gave a quick check over his shoulder to make sure no one was in listening range and was pleased to see that the nearest table was empty. That was good; he didn’t even want to know what kind of things an eager ear might have picked up on from their conversation…

As the waiter left their table again, Barry made a mental note to be a little more careful with how loud he spoke. But he already knew that sticking to that was going to be difficult. Speaking to Len sometimes just left Barry feeling as though there was no one else in the world, like it was just the two of them. It was those eyes, probably: those beautiful blue eyes which drew Barry in and would hardly allow him to look away.

Barry smiled at Len now and picked up his fork to take a bite of his dinner, nodding. It was pretty good. They spoke idly about their food for a while, making pleasantries. Len offered Barry a slice of pizza, and in return, Barry speared a few pieces of chicken and pasta on his fork and made to pass it over. But instead of taking the fork from Barry’s hand like he’d expected, Len just leant forward and wrapped his lips around it, allowing Barry to feed him. It was… oddly arousing.

Even more so when Len gave him a little wink and a smirk.

Barry could feel his blush spreading all the way down his chest, making him all hot and flustered.

Len took a sip of his own wine, his eyes roaming pleasantly down Barry’s body. “I like it when you blush like that,” he drawled, and Barry glared at him for it, even as his cheeks got hotter. “You know, I almost didn’t show up tonight,” he said. “But I am _so_ glad that I did.”

Barry started grinning, opening his mouth to return the sentiment… but then his stomach plummeted as the real world came soaring back into the forefront of his mind. Barry dropped his gaze to his food, feeling worried about the conversation he and Len now needed to have; the conversation they _should_ have had the second Barry saw him hanging around outside of his work tonight.

“You shouldn’t come by the precinct anymore,” he said as he twirled his pasta around his fork, preparing himself before he finally looked back up into Len’s gaze. “Someone could see you.”

But Len looked undeterred. “I don’t mind a little danger.”

That wasn’t the point…

Len seemed to notice there was more to the conversation, though, because he put down the slice of pizza he’d been holding and cleaned his fingers on his napkin.

Finally, he asked: “What’s going on?”

“They might start watching me,” Barry admitted, feeling tense. “I told them you’re my soulmate.”

Len froze up suddenly as though Barry had betrayed him, as though he’d given Len up. But Barry just shook his head and reached out for Len’s hand to comfort him. He didn’t really realise he was doing it, though; not until their skin made contact. And then, rather than pulling away, Barry made the conscious effort to hold on a little tighter.

“Not like that,” he promised. “I’m not turning you in. I wouldn’t. I just…”

How could he describe this in a way that Len – a criminal with a complete disregard for the law and its officers – would understand?

Barry bit nervously on his lip. “Working on your case now would be a conflict of interest. I could get fired for it, go to jail for it; I… I had to get taken off the case, and telling them the truth was the only way to do that.”

“How’d they react?” Len asked, sounding and looking a little more relaxed again now. Though not by all that much.

“Only my Captain knows so far, but he seemed to take it pretty well.” Perhaps even better than Barry had, actually. “But there’s going to be an investigation to make sure my story’s true, that I really didn’t know you were my soulmate before this week.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.”

But, if this whole thing between himself and Len actually worked, then it would be worth it. Hell, even if this relationship blew up in Barry’s face in the end, it would still be worth it to have known his soulmate.

Or, at least, Barry hoped that it would.

He wanted to get to know Len, wanted to get to learn more about himself through their bond. Barry wanted it all, he just hoped that Len did too.

And, if the fact he was frequently showing up was anything to go by, Len was as interested in Barry as he claimed.

Barry averted his gaze and let go of Len’s hand as he took another few bites of his pasta, the air around the table becoming a little tense. Barry wished he knew what to say to break that tension now, wished he knew the magic words that could make this whole date a little less awkward.

But he didn’t.

After a moment, Len spoke back up.

“So, you were the CSI on my case, huh?” he asked, sounding casual. Too casual. “I guess you know a lot about me.”

Well, actually… no.

Barry _had_ read Len’s file, cover to cover, but he’d done it at superspeed. He didn’t retain the information for too long that way, and he’d already forgotten most of what he’d read about Leonard Snart.

“Not really. I don’t really read up much on the suspects, that’s the detective’s job, not the CSI’s.” However, just because it wasn’t his job didn’t mean that he didn’t do it. But this way was just easier to explain than any explanation that involved Barry admitting he forgot what was in Snart’s casefile.

“Really?” Len asked, sounding surprised. “Not even a little peek this morning before turning everything in?” Barry shook his head. “Huh… Then I guess I know more about you than you know about me.”

“What? Have you been reading up on me?” Barry asked playfully.

“Maybe just a little bit,” Len admitted, then he leant forward on the table and grinned boldly. “Your baby pictures on Facebook are pretty cute.”

Dammit, Barry _really_ needed to make his profile private already.

It took a moment, though, for the implications of what Len had said to really settle in, and then Barry became nervous. Len was a smart man, and Barry had no doubt that he could uncover all of Barry’s secrets without even trying. For example, if he’d happened to go through Barry’s friend list, then he would no doubt see Cisco and Caitlin on there. And if he’d been through his photos then…

Barry chewed on his lip for a moment before making eye contact with Len again. “So, you know that my foster dad is…”

“Detective Joe West,” Len nodded. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest. “From the looks of it, you two get along pretty well.”

“We do.”

“Then he can’t be too bad,” Len shrugged, as though he had no issue at all with the fact Barry’s foster father was the lead detective on his case. “Hey, maybe one day we’ll all be able to sit around a table like this as one big happy family?”

Barry laughed. “So long as you don’t mind being at gunpoint for the entire time, sure.”

Once again, Barry felt nervous about his own stupid lack of a filter, but Len didn’t seem at all bothered by his comment.

“Don’t worry about me, Barry,” he drawled. “I’m Captain Cold, remember?” Barry laughed again, a little more light-heartedly this time.

“You really like that name, don’t you?”

“What can I say? It suits me.”

“I don’t know, you’re pretty warm to me,” Barry said, grinning down into his plate of pasta. “And you don’t have your gun anymore.” That was probably the wrong thing to say, and Barry regretted it instantly. But Len didn’t look annoyed by it.

“I have a plan for that.”

He didn’t offer up any more information than that, which was good because Barry didn’t know if he’d be able to stop himself from using that information against him as the Flash. He liked Len, but willingly allowing Cold to get his gun back was not on his to-do list this week.

However, Barry did wonder how Len would go about it. The cold gun and heat gun alike were both destroyed the second that Cisco got them back to STAR Labs, and surely Len would know that. Surely, he would know that the Flash wouldn’t keep those things lying around for just anyone to get their hands on.

Not again.

But Len looked pretty confident in himself, so it made Barry curious.

And then it made Barry _worry_.

Len didn’t have the greatest track-record as Captain Cold. First, he’d killed a security guard to get away, then he’d derailed a train, then he’d kidnapped Caitlin and strapped her to a bomb! His plans weren’t exactly safe for everyone involved, and – as much as Barry was coming to like Len – he was anxious about what he would do next.

Barry glanced over his shoulder again, double-checking that no one could overhear him before he leant forward on the table and dropped his voice to a whisper.

“Just promise me you’re not going to hurt anyone,” he said, and Len shrugged easily.

“Okay, I won’t–”

“I mean it,” Barry interrupted, unimpressed by Len’s flippant tone. “You’re a criminal, okay, I get that. But you don’t have to kill people to get what you want. If you’re as good as you say you are, no one has to die.” He insisted. “You don’t have to be a murderer, you don’t have to kidnap people and hurt them.”

 _Please_.

Barry silently begged Len to agree. He’d already put so much on the line for him today, and he just wanted to know that it was all worth it, that Len was willing to make an effort where it actually counted. Because wooing Barry, that was one thing… it was great, fantastic, made him feel like he was truly worth something to Len. But at the end of the day, they all just added up to empty gestures and hollow words. Barry needed more than that. He needed someone who would be there for him, who cared, who wasn’t just in it for the thrill of the chase.

He needed a _soulmate_.

“Okay,” Len said, and this time it felt real, like he’d thought it over and actually agreed. Len reached for his hand just like Barry had done for Len only ten minutes ago. “Okay, Barry, I’ll stop.”

And, just like that, Barry relaxed. Len didn’t pull away, though. They’d both finished their meals now, so there was no reason to, and neither of them wanted to either. So, they just sat there holding hands on top of the table for a little while. It was just like it had been the other day in the interrogation room, except this time Joe wasn’t in the next room watching them, and Barry wasn’t pretending that he didn’t like Len’s touch.

Len’s thumb began to rub circles against Barry’s skin, and he smiled. He was still worried about what else Len could have uncovered while searching his social media. He wondered if Len had made the connection between Iris West Barry’s lifelong best friend, and Iris West, the Flash expert. He wondered if he’d seen any posts by Caitlin, or Cisco, or any kind of connection to STAR Labs at all.

Barry wondered about a lot of things, but he decided to just put that out of his head for now. There was no point in worrying; if Len had already figured anything out, then it was too late for Barry to change that. And if he hadn’t, then Barry still had time to keep Len off the Flash’s trail.

There was no point in worrying, so Barry didn’t.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Len asked, and the implications of that sentence sent a shiver of pleasure right down his spine. Barry would _very much_ like to leave with Leonard right now.

But he was still no closer to figuring out how to control his powers when they were together.

Len seemed to read the answer on Barry’s face as his little smile dropped. He didn’t pull away from Barry, but he also seemed to realise that tonight wasn’t going to end in the way he hoped it would… in the way that Barry wished that it could.

“It’s getting late,” Barry said, and Len nodded in understanding. He called the waiter over and paid for both of their meals, despite Barry’s insistence that he could pay his own way, only letting go of Barry’s hand when he absolutely had to.

And when they stood to walk outside again, Barry felt Len’s hand come to rest on his lower back, warm and steady and comforting in a way that it shouldn’t have been, considering who Len was and how little they knew about each other.

“Do you want a ride home?” Len asked as they walked back towards the precinct where Len must have parked his car. His words weren’t suggestive like before; it was simply a thoughtful offer. It was a cold night, and Len didn’t want Barry to have to walk in it or wait around for the bus. It was sweet, and Barry had half a mind to say yes… but he didn’t know if he could trust himself around Len in private yet. So, he shook his head.

Len looked disappointed, and Barry didn’t like that frown on his face, didn’t like that he was the one who had put it there.

Perhaps that was why he found courage enough to ask: “Can I have your number?”

Len appeared surprised then, and Barry was instantly flooded with embarrassment that he knew he shouldn’t feel considering that Len was his _soulmate_ and was clearly into him. But logic didn’t stop the heat from rising on Barry’s cheeks and neck.

“It’ll just be a lot easier to get in touch with each other,” Barry muttered, training his eyes down on the pavement under his feet while they walked. “So that you don’t have to keep tracking me down.”

Len laughed. “Maybe I like tracking you down.”

“Stalker,” Barry said, playfully. He dug down into his pocket and pulled his phone and unlocked it, ready to hand over to Len. It was only then that Barry remembered that there were _photos of himself in the Flash suit_ on that phone.

He felt the blood drain from his face, but Len thankfully didn’t seem to notice.

He also, oddly, didn’t accept Barry’s phone. Instead, when his hand dropped from Barry’s back, he pulled his own mobile out of his pocket and started clicking away at something. A second later, Barry’s phone vibrated with an incoming text from an unknown number, the contents of which was just one emoji: a snowflake.

“How…?” Barry didn’t know how to voice his question. Confusion, relief, and anxiety all mixing together and not allowing him to think clearly. Len shrugged, a smile playing at his lips.

“I may have taken one of your business cards from your kit when you left it in the interrogation room,” he admitted, and Barry could only laugh at that.

He clicked on the message sitting on his phone and added Len’s number to his contacts. It was then that he noticed another text, this one from his team’s group chat asking where he was tonight. They’d been training his speed a lot lately, and Barry often went to the lab directly after work, so they were probably concerned when he didn’t show up an hour ago. Especially so soon after Caitlin had been kidnapped – by Barry’s soulmate, no less.

“Something wrong?” Len asked. And yeah, there _was_ … but Barry shook his head. Len had promised not to do that anymore, not to put anyone else in danger again.

Barry just wished they’d come to that agreement _before_ he’d kidnapped one of Barry’s closest friends.

“I think I’m going to stop by a friend’s house instead of going right home,” Barry decided, slowing down to a stop as they neared another road which would lead him in completely the other direction from the station where Len had likely parked up. It wasn’t as though Barry really wanted to cut this date short and leave now, but he felt like he needed to get some fresh air away from Leonard.

Barry paused, uncertain of how to say goodbye. This had been a nice date. Well… maybe ‘ _nice_ ’ wasn’t the best word to use, but Barry was still processing and didn’t know how else he could describe it. Len had been such an odd mixture of sweet and teasing, and Barry had liked it, every second of it. He had always enjoyed being around Leonard Snart, even when it had been as the Flash and Captain Cold. Sure, it had not been fun to fight the man – and Barry still got a phantom twinge down his entire right side from where the cold gun had caught him full-on a few nights ago – but when they’d been talking on that train…

It was part of the reason why it had been so easy for Barry to go along with Wells’ idea to just let Captain Cold tire himself out and get bored without the Flash’s attention. Because Barry knew how stupid and reckless it was to get _excited_ at the thought of fighting Cold again. He knew that he shouldn’t have enjoyed the banter he had with Leonard, but it was easier to avoid him entirely than to face why that was.

Not that Barry would have _ever_ come to the correct conclusion about his conflicting feelings for Captain Cold, even if he had taken the time to really think about it.

He would have never guessed that Len would be his soulmate.

“I enjoyed tonight,” Barry said, trying to bring himself out of his head and back to the present, back to Len’s smile. “I’ll text you.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Len drawled, as smooth as ever. Barry wanted to roll his eyes and laugh, not just at Len, but at _this_. Them. Their whole situation.

It was ridiculous.

And yet somehow it was good. Somehow… Barry thought that it might work.

So, instead of pulling away any further than he already was, Barry decided that he owed himself one small favour. A treat for not just running them both back to his apartment and tearing Len’s clothes off.

Barry’s heart was racing in his chest as he pushed forward into Len’s space and placed one soft kiss onto Len’s lips.

Or… that was what it was supposed to be: just one kiss, sweet, simple, closed-mouthed.

But once their lips actually met, Barry felt all his trepidation slip away. He opened his mouth to lick at Len’s lips, and Len was all too happy to open up to Barry as he wrapped his arms around his waist.

Barry lifted his hands to cup Len’s jaw, tilting his face into the perfect angle to deepen the kiss further, feeling electricity spark along his every nerve. Len gasped into the kiss as though he could feel it too, and that was what made Barry’s brain short-circuit. That soft, breathy noise that sent a shiver down Barry spine which had absolutely _nothing_ to do with the cold evening air.

Len’s hands were warm against Barry’s body, his fingers slipping up underneath Barry’s shirt and brushing against his skin, so close to the soulmark on his hip that it made Barry’s breath hitch, his blood flooding south.

What made Barry pull away wasn’t his conscious, nor his common sense, and not even the rush of his powers sparking just under the surface of Barry’s skin and threatening to burst free. In the end, what made him pull away was the honking, cheering, and laughter coming from a car passing by them on the otherwise silent road.

Len didn’t seem to care about the audience passing by, already fading into the distance. Still, it made Barry flush in embarrassment… which was becoming a familiar feeling around Len now.

“I should go,” Barry said, and Len’s fingers fell from his torso, the warmth of his touch quickly fading and making Barry feel cold instead. And he could have laughed at how backwards that should have been.

“I’ll see you soon, Barry,” Len said, and Barry nodded as he got the courage to step away from Len. He smiled and took a step back before turning and walking away. He could feel Len’s eyes on him as he left, and he sent one last look back over his shoulder at Len standing there on the corner before he took another side street and disappeared from sight.

Barry walked for a little longer, heading for an alleyway before he pushed into superspeed and ran away to STAR Labs, content in the thought that maybe this relationship with Len wasn’t quite as doomed as he’d first thought.

[] [] []

Barry Allen was incredible.

He was funny, smart, beautiful, and just about everything that Len could have ever wanted in a soulmate. Apart from the whole cop thing but, hey, no one was perfect. And anyway, Barry was nothing like any other badge – and, yes, Len included the laminates as well as the gold shields there – that Len had ever met before.

Barry was amazing, and Len was falling for him. Fast.

Being around the kid… God, it gave Len that same high, that same rush, as being Captain Cold did. He had never thought he would find anything or anyone who came close to how battling up against the Flash made him feel, but he was wrong. Because Barry was all of that and so much more.

Barry made Len feel young again, like the hopeless little teenager he had once been, falling over himself at the sight of a pretty smile and adorable eyes. Yep, that’s right, Barry was adorable. And that normally wasn’t Len’s type, but this time he was making one hell of an exception.

He was in awe of this man. And the more he got to know Barry, the better the feeling felt.

Len had never considered himself a lucky man; everything he had in his life he’d had to work for, meticulously, through blood, sweat, and tears – though those were usually someone else’s – he’d worked himself to the bone for every crumb he had. But he didn’t have to work for Barry, he didn’t have to fight for him. All he had to do was show up, and Barry accepted him.

And the fact that Barry even wanted to be around Len in the first place felt like he’d stolen the most precious jewel on the planet. And all Barry asked for in return… the one thing that he insisted on? No more killing.

Len could do that.

He’d never enjoyed killing anyone, never taken a thrill from it. It was just always something he had to do to get by. But that was the old game, the old Leonard Snart. The Flash had changed the playing field completely when he showed up, and Len had changed with him and become Captain Cold. And now all Barry was doing with his request was adding an extra obstacle, an extra challenge for Len to overcome. It would certainly be trickier, but since when did Len ever take the easy way out of anything? He could do this. He _wanted_ to do this. And not just because Barry had asked it of him, either.

Len wanted to do this because it felt right for him.

Hurting innocent people, killing them… it always left a sour taste in his mouth. Even kidnapping that young doctor the other day, although he’d been sure she would be fine, and although he knew she worked for his adversary, Len had felt bitter about it. But now, with this new set of rules, Len would never have to experience that again.

It changed some of his plans, of course. But Len thought that it might just change them for the better.

He thought about that as he pulled himself out of bed, showered, and dressed the morning after their date. He thought about Barry and about how Len could rework his plans to make his soulmate happier, and Len was so deep in thought about it that he didn’t even notice his sister sitting in the kitchen until she spoke up.

“You were out late last night,” Lisa said, and Len rolled his eyes.

Mick had chosen to bide time in another safehouse – still a bit pissed off at Len for withholding key information about his last plan – but Lisa had been alternating between staying with him in this little bungalow he was crashing in, and going back to the apartment complex she owned by the river; which was bought under own of her false identities, of course. He hadn’t thought she’d been here last night after Len came home from his date, though, so he was surprised to see her here now.

Len didn’t show his surprise though, nor did he think too hard about where _he_ had been last night, cautious about how he acted around his little sister in case she put two and two together about his new budding relationship.

“So, nothing unusual, then?” he rebutted his sister’s comment with a sly smile.

Lisa shrugged. “Maybe… Maybe not. When you’re out late, you usually come back either with blueprints or stinking of beer.”

“You’re overthinking this,” Len muttered, realising too late that his words could, and probably would, be construed as defensive.

“Really? That smile earlier said otherwise.”

“I don’t smile,” Len scoffed, knowing full well that it was a lie. Barry had been right last night, Len wasn’t necessarily as cold and distant as his supervillain persona let on. He could be chipper when the occasion called for it, and he had been particularly happy these past few months ever since stealing the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond.

And even more so since meeting Barry Allen.

“Who’s the guy?” Lisa asked, ignoring Len’s comment as though she could read his mind. Perhaps she could… stranger things than telepathy were happening in Central City lately. Though Len figured the more likely explanation was that Lisa was one of the few people who Len actually let his walls down around. His sister knew him well, and Len still wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing…

Still, he feigned uninterest as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “What guy?”

“The guy I saw you with last night.”

That hit hard, and Len instantly whipped his head around to glare at his sister. She was sitting at his kitchen table, calmly sipping her coffee as though they were discussing the weather.

“You followed me,” Len accused, and she shrugged.

“You were acting weird, and I was bored,” she said as though Len had left her no choice but to pry into his life. “So, who is he?”

He felt like telling his sister that it was none of her business. Because it wasn’t. But… he was surprisingly relieved that Lisa knew about Barry. Len had the childish urge to talk about him to just about anyone who would listen, like a teenager with their first crush, and he was crushing _hard_.

So, he sighed and told Lisa the truth. “He’s my soulmate.”

“Are you serious?” She was clearly surprised, and that made Len feel like laughing… Or maybe it was just the thought of Barry that made Len feel so gleeful? It was probably the latter, but Len pretended, for his own sake, that his mirth was a little more roguish than that. “Lenny, that’s–”

“– Complicated.” And it was, so very, very complicated that Len still couldn’t even really say how things were going between them. They seemed to be doing great, but who could say what each new day would bring? Len wasn’t going to pretend that this would be easy; and the more people who knew, probably meant the trickier it would be. Especially on Barry’s part. Len didn’t have all that many reservations to overcome here. But Barry… “He works for the CCPD.”

That shut Lisa up pretty quickly, and whatever she had been about to say just fell from her lips.

“Does he know who you are?” she asked instead. “What we do?”

Len laughed, remembering how they first met. It would have been kind of hard for Barry to miss the fact Len was a criminal since they literally met when he was in handcuffs. But Len didn’t want to go into all the specifics right now; Lisa was nosy enough as it is and didn’t need to know all of the intricacies of Len’s love life.

So, instead, he just said: “He does.”

“Yet you still smile when you talk about him,” Lisa pointed out, and Len glared at her, but she didn’t so much as waver in her enthusiasm. “That’s a good sign.”

It was true… Barry hadn’t reacted as poorly as he could have done, but their relationship was still far from smooth sailing. Len was sure there would be rocky waters on the horizon, but he just hoped they were past the worst of it now.

“I’m happy for you,” Lisa said, and Len knew that she was telling the truth.

However, he _also_ knew by the look on his sister’s face that she wasn’t done talking yet.

He waited.

“But…” Lisa finally continued, not looking pleased about what she was about to say. “Is this going to get in the way of the plan?”

“Do you really think I would let a pair of pretty green eyes get in the way of my plan?” Len drawled, but Lisa didn’t look too impressed by his façade. She knew as well as Len did that he never gave up on chasing what he wanted… but she also knew that Barry had the potential to shift Len’s attention away from what he _should_ be focussing on, which was the Flash.

The Flash wasn’t going to stop attempting to arrest him just because Len had decided to lay low for a little while. Just like Len, this speedster wasn’t going to give up. He knew that the Flash needed his full attention, not only because Len was looking at climbing his way to the top in this little city he called home, but because Len had made this personal. He’d kidnapped that doctor from STAR Labs, he’d forced the Flash to reveal himself to the whole world… And on top of that, Len had proven that he wasn’t so easy to lock up as the speedster might have thought. The Flash absolutely had a vendetta against Len now, and he’d be out for blood.

Now wasn’t the time for Len to get distracted.

And yet he was. His attention was torn so viciously between his new persona and goals as Captain Cold, and his soulmate.

But he could do both, he was sure. He could become king of this city and also have Barry Allen.

He could do both, and he would.


	4. Chapter 4

Avoiding Joe West was about as taxing as Barry might have thought it would be. Even with superspeed, he constantly felt as though his foster father was catching up to him. Perhaps that was just paranoia…

It had been a couple of days now since Len and Barry had gone on their date, and Barry was slowly coming to terms with his soulmate dilemmas. All of them, except for perhaps one of the most important ones: telling his family.

Barry hadn’t been able to visit his dad in Iron Heights yet to tell him the news, and he’d been purposefully dodging Joe at every turn. But now that Joe and Eddie were back on shift again, his foster father had been filled in about how – but, thankfully, not _why_ – Barry was no longer working on Snart’s case. Barry didn’t know what Captain Singh had told him about the sudden change of plan, but whatever the excuse was, Joe didn’t seem to be buying it.

And staying away from him while they were working in the same building wasn’t easy. He had to have figured out by now that Barry was avoiding him…

Barry was probably just making this entire situation worse by not coming forward with the truth…

But he just wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout of that yet.

Thankfully, he had been sent out to a few different crime scenes this morning, working with other detectives, so he was able to keep dodging his father figure for most of the day. He skipped out at lunch too, deciding to go visit Iris at work. Jitters was a little slow this time in the afternoon, so she was able to step out for an hour on break to have an early dinner.

“You’ll never guess who I got a call from this morning,” Iris said, excited, while they dug into their meal. They’d decided to go to a Chinese place a few blocks away from Jitters and were sitting together at a table covered with dishes to share between them. Iris didn’t continue on, just staring at Barry expectantly as though waiting for his involvement. Barry just made a questioning noise around his mouthful of Kung Poa chicken, swallowing and washing it down while Iris answered with: “Central City Picture News. They’re offering me a job.”

“Iris, that’s amazing!”

It was. She’d been looking for a job in reporting since before Barry had woken from his coma.

Iris started talking about it then, looking as though she was about to bounce out of her seat in excitement. Apparently, she and Eddie had plans to celebrate this evening when they were both off work, and then she would be starting at the CCPN in just a few days.

“I was starting to think I’d be working at Jitters for the rest of my life,” she said, biting into a sticky pork bun.

“Hey,” Barry muttered, pointing his chopsticks at her. “Jitters has great benefits; where else are you going to get all of those free pastries?”

Iris laughed, nodding her head. “That’s true.” But, jokes aside, her passion was reporting, and nothing would ever come close to it. Barry could understand that; he felt the same way about his job as a CSI. “But, enough about me,” Iris said, shaking her head. “How are things with you and Snart?”

Barry smiled. “He prefers Len.”

“Ooh, the first names are coming out?” Iris quipped. “See, that’s progress.”

“Yeah,” Barry nodded, spinning his chopsticks around in his noodles as he remembered yesterday’s date and the kiss they had shared. “It is.” Barry shook himself out of his thoughts before he got too lost in them for his own good. “We went out for dinner the other night.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” She sounded offended, but she was smiling. “How was it?”

“It was great,” he admitted. “We have a lot more in common than you’d think. Except for the whole career path thing… And that’s going to be difficult.” Understatement of the century. “But I think we might just get past it.”

“Uh-huh; and how was the _dessert_?” she asked, grinning wickedly at her own euphemism. Barry blushed, even though nothing had happened. But the thought that something _could_ have happened still made his stomach flip… Though Barry’s reaction clearly conveyed the wrong message because soon Iris was leaning forward on her seat expectantly.

“No. We… we just kissed.” Though it had been a pretty incredible kiss at that. Iris scoffed as though she didn’t believe him.

“I find that hard to believe after the whole sex-driven frenzy you went into when you saw his mark,” she said, and Barry just about choked on his Szechuan beef.

“I…” Barry gasped, shaking his head, and needing to pause for a drink of tea. “I wouldn’t describe it like _that_.”

“No, you’d just blush and make vague hand gestures,” she said, and Barry shrugged because he kind of couldn’t deny that… “Seriously? Nothing happened?”

Barry shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Oh, well. There’s always the next time.”

Yeah, Barry had been thinking the exact same thing. But how would that work? With Barry’s powers refusing to settle any time that things began getting heated between them… having sex with Leonard Snart without exposing his identity as the Flash seemed impossible.

Barry tried to keep the frown off his face as he finished off the noodles, but Iris must have noticed it.

“There is going to be a next time, right?” she asked, and Barry cautiously nodded his head. He liked the idea of spending more time with Len and trying to work this whole thing between them out, but it wasn’t exactly getting any less complicated. Barry explained this to Iris as best as he could, and she nodded in understanding.

Their lunch hour was almost up now, so they quickly finished off the last of their food and paid the bill before going their separate ways, heading back to their respective work buildings. By the time Barry had returned to the precinct, Joe and Eddie were out tracking down a lead on one of their cases, so he – thankfully – didn’t need to dodge them.

He went back up to his lab then, convinced he would have the rest of the afternoon to himself with no further interruptions. He got stuck into work for the next couple of hours, only getting pulled back out of his concentration by the sound of a text alert on his phone.

Barry looked over to see Len’s name light up on his screen. He felt the sudden urge to abandon his work to read the text, but he was in the middle of setting up the PCR machine, and once the process had begun, it needed to be completed rapidly or risk the test failing.

So, Barry took the next five minutes to steadily prepare the samples, even as his mind was split into two parts, obsessively thinking about the text resting on his phone. It wasn’t the first time they had texted each other; in fact, Barry had spent most of his free time yesterday afternoon sharing messages with his soulmate. But that didn’t stop the shiver of delight from running down Barry’s spine at the thought of talking to Len again…

He pipetted the last sample onto the plate and inserted it into the machine. Finally, it clicked into place and whirled to life, so Barry threw his gloves in the trash and grabbed his mobile.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:08 pm_**  
**Having a good day at work?**

It was just a simple text, nothing like the kind of teasing and taunting messages he’d received from Len so far. But it was nice to see that Len just wanted to talk with Barry, regardless of what it was about.

And Barry couldn’t deny that he felt the same way.

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:14 pm_  
Hmm… a criminal asking about my job as a CSI? Sounds suspicious**

After Barry pressed send, he felt flushed with nerves, irrationally worried that he might offend Len. It was a joke, but did his soulmate realise that? It was kind of hard to convey sarcasm over text without being wildly overt about it.

Thankfully, though, he didn’t have to wait long for a reply, and he was soon blushing at Len’s words.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:14 pm_  
Darn. You’re onto my dastardly plan. I’d move on to the next CSI, but they’re not as cute as you**

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:15 pm_  
Then I guess you’re stuck with me**

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:15 pm_  
I guess I am. So long as another criminal doesn’t come along and steal your heart**

Barry didn’t know whether to roll his eyes or laugh at his soulmate’s pun. In the end, he did both.

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:15 pm_  
I’ll try not to let that happen**

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:16 pm_  
And to answer your question… work’s been fine. A little slow, but fine. How about you? (if you did something illegal, pls don’t tell me. I need deniability)**

Barry began to feel a little awkward about the fact that he’d just stood there on his phone for the last few minutes, so he moved to sit at his computer and pulled up his work emails as he read Len’s reply.

Technically, he wasn’t doing anything differently now than before, but at least he _looked_ more the part in case anyone came in.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:16 pm_  
Slow, huh? I guess you should get used to that now that everyone knows about the Flash… seems he’s as bad for your business as he is for mine.**

To be honest, Barry hadn’t really thought about that. He’d never considered how known his presence as a superhero might deter any of the criminals in Central City… Probably because it had seemed to have the exact opposite effect with Leonard.

Based on what Barry remembered from Len’s pattern pre-explosion, his heists were few and far between, and he’d never stuck around in Central for long afterwards. But then metahumans started popping up in the city, and – instead of tucking tail and running like so many others might have done – Len had adapted. He’d stolen the cold gun, and, even without superpowers, he’d learnt how to make himself one of the biggest threats that the Flash had faced to date.

And so instead of taking a break for a year or so in between jobs, Len had returned to Central after only a few weeks. And it looked as though he had no intention of leaving again.

Barry tried not to think about that too hard, though, because it was still difficult to consolidate the ideas of Len and Captain Cold together in his head. Barry knew that they were the same man, but knowing it and accepting it were two different things.

So, he just sighed and turned back to his phone to type out a reply, hoping to keep the atmosphere as light as he could.

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:17 pm_  
Are you trying to turn me against the Flash? You might be out of luck on that one**

There was no way that Len could know why that was, though.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:18 pm_  
I thought the police were supposed to hate vigilantes?**

Barry could admit that was technically true…

However, he wasn’t technically a cop, so it didn’t matter. And, anyway, even if he did have a badge – and even if the said vigilante wasn’t, you know, _himself_ – Barry still didn’t think his feelings on the matter would change. Being a cop hadn’t tainted the opinion of the Flash for anyone else in the precinct, after all.

Even Eddie, who had been so adamantly against the Flash to begin with, was now just as on-board as Iris was.

Whereas Len was a criminal so, of course, he would be against the idea of anyone being powerful enough to stop him. Though it did hurt just a little bit that his soulmate was so critical against such a central part of Barry’s life. Not that Len had any idea who the Flash really was under that cowl, but it still made Barry’s chest twinge. He wanted Len to like him, to like every side of Barry that there was – the Flash included.

Perhaps that was why he sent his next text.

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:18 pm_  
There’s a fine line between vigilante and hero.**

It was supposed to be playful but, for a moment, he worried about whether or not it would come across as defensive. He didn’t want to give Len any indication of who he was. So, Barry became anxious as he waited for a reply, biting his lip as he looked down at his phone while he had one hand on his mouse, scrolling aimlessly up and down his work emails as though he had any intention of reading them now.

He didn’t.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:18 pm_  
But there’s no line between vigilante and criminal**

Barry’s laugh was perhaps a little nervous that time because he couldn’t dispute the truth to Len’s words. And it wasn’t just the vigilantism that Barry was breaking the law with, but also the whole illegal incarceration thing he had going on down in that pipeline.

And thinking of that… he’d really have to talk with Cisco about arranging for him to pimp out a couple of the cells at Iron Heights to make them suitable. Now that the world knew about metahumans, it shouldn’t be an issue to convince the warden of the need. After all, it wasn’t like they’d ever got around to that whole rehabilitation plan they’d discussed.

And now more than ever, with the threat of IA hanging over his head, Barry needed to walk the straight and narrow. In fact, he should have never strayed from that path, to begin with. The kind of decisions that he was backing right now… they were the kind of decisions that a younger Barry Allen would have blown the whistle on.

But regardless of whether or not Len was – _technically_ – telling the truth, Barry got a feeling that that wasn’t all this was about.

To: **_Len_**  
Sent: **_18:19 pm_  
You sound jealous**

Once again, Barry found himself nervously awaiting Len’s reply, hoping he hadn’t put his foot in it. Len didn’t have a good relationship with the Flash – Barry should know since he was the very same Scarlet Speedster in question – and so this was possibly a touchy subject for him. And Barry could imagine that accusing him of being jealous of his nemesis might not necessarily go down well.

But, in this case, it might just be true.

After all, they were soulmates, so of course, Len would want Barry on his side in this. It was only natural to want that.

Just like it was natural for Barry to want Len to like the Flash. Or, at the very least, for Len to not _hate_ him…

Len wanted Barry on his side just as much as Barry wanted Len on his. It was just that Barry was the only one of them who knew how vastly contrasting those two desires were.

NEW MESSAGE From: **_Len_**  
Received: **_18:20 pm_  
Maybe I am. He’s stealing my soulmate’s attention from me. The thief**

“Who are you smiling at?” Joe asked as he appeared in the doorway, and Barry yelped in surprise, nearly dropping his phone as he jumped and whirled around.

“No one,” Barry defended, locking his phone, and shoving it into his pocket out of sight. That only served to make Joe suspicious, and Barry berated his own dumb move. “It was just a meme that Cisco sent me.” Joe nodded then as though he believed him, but Barry doubted it.

“I’ve been trying to catch you all day,” Joe said instead of continuing on with that line of questioning, and Barry gave his best attempt at a mildly surprised expression, hoping to convey that he’d had no idea. “Why did Singh take you off Snart’s case?”

“Oh, I don’t think I was really ‘ _taken off_ ’ the case,” Barry lied, doing his utmost to sound casual; or, as casual as he could manage, at least. “More like I was just needed elsewhere.”

“That’s what Singh said.”

“Oh?” Barry asked, shrugging nonchalantly and turning back to his computer, clicking on a random email as though he had been waiting on it. Barry glanced back at Joe again only briefly to say: “Well… there you go, then.” He knew he’d made a mistake by playing it down too much when Joe’s frown instantly doubled-down.

“Except you’ve been head CSI on all of Snart’s cases up until now. It doesn’t make sense that they’d let Anderson take over full time.”

“Maybe they just wanted some fresh eyes on it?” Barry defended, squirming a little.

Joe shook his head and crossed his arms. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” Barry attempted to laugh off that accusation as though Joe was mad. It didn’t work. “This doesn’t have anything to do with what happened when Snart was in custody, did it?” he asked, and Barry felt pale.

“What happened when Snart was in custody?” he asked innocently. Barry gave up on pretending to read the email and, instead, he stood and walked around Joe to another desk, flicking through the stack of files there as though he was searching for something in particular.

“Come on, Barr, I’m not blind,” he said, sounding frustrated. “Anyone could see he was hitting on you. Why do you think I expedited his transport to Iron Heights?”

Barry stared back at his foster father, blinking owlishly. He hadn’t realised Joe had done that, though now that he knew, he questioned how he hadn’t put it together sooner. Len and his partner _were_ in and out of the precinct pretty quickly. To arrange that, Joe must have got the ball rolling on it the second that Barry left that interrogation room, if not sooner.

Joe had been here trying to protect him from the big bad Leonard Snart all along, and Barry had done just about everything he could to undermine those efforts.

But he _definitely_ wasn’t willing to own up to that yet.

“Joe,” Barry laughed nervously. “You can’t honestly think something is going on between Snart and me.”

Joe’s expression instantly turned into one of white-hot rage.

“Well, I didn’t until you just said that.” _Fuck_. “What the hell is going on?!”

Barry stared back at Joe with wide eyes, feeling nauseous. This was _not_ how he’d wanted his foster father to find out. Hell, Barry hadn’t wanted him to find out _at all_!

But he supposed it had been inevitable from the start.

Barry couldn’t keep such a big secret from his family, not only because it was impractical, and hurtful in the long run, but also because he was an absolutely _disastrous_ liar.

So, Barry sighed and nodded, perching himself reluctantly on the edge of his desk when all he really wanted to do was run away.

“Leonard Snart’s my soulmate.”

It went down about as well as could be expected.

[] [] []

Len waited for a reply that didn’t come, feeling more uneasy with each passing second. He tried to tell himself that nothing was wrong, Barry was just busy, but that didn’t sit right in his stomach.

Maybe he was worrying over nothing, or maybe it was soulmate intuition? Len didn’t know, and that just made everything worse.

It was nearly seven o’clock now, and Len knew that Barry would be finishing his shift soon. So, even though he knew it was a bad idea, Len grabbed his keys and jumped onto the back of his motorbike, racing to the same place that he had stood and waited for Barry only a few nights earlier.

Barry’s lab was easily visible from the street, and the lights were clearly still on up there, so Len watched and waited. It was a little warmer tonight than it had been all week, the sky filled with clouds which locked the heat in, keeping it from escaping in the winter air.

It was warmer, but Len still had to tuck his hands down into his pockets to keep warm during the wait.

And it would be a long one because it wasn’t for another twenty minutes until the lights were switched off in Barry’s lab. A few more minutes after that until he excited the precinct, head down and not really looking where he was going.

Len slotted in right beside him as he walked, making Barry jump and glare Len’s way.

“You don’t look happy to see me,” he drawled, mildly – aka, _very_ – concerned now.

“Yeah, I’m not,” Barry rebutted, his pace quickening as though he was trying to leave Len behind. Or perhaps that was just in Len’s head? Maybe he was just trying to get away from the police station faster? If it had been as difficult an evening as it seemed, then Len could understand that desire. “I thought you were going to stop just showing up everywhere uninvited.”

“I never said that,” Len quipped, flashing Barry that smile which had seemed to make him all flustered before, but it didn’t appear to have the desired effect this time. Barry even looked _angry_ to see him, which was strange. Even before he’d known that they were soulmates, Barry had never taken offence to Len being near him. Slowly, Len’s smile faded away. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong? You mean other than the fact that my soulmate is a mass murderer?” Barry still didn’t stop walking, but his words were sharp enough to cut through Len’s chest, and it made his steps momentarily falter. “Do you have any idea how much this is screwing up my life?”

Len couldn’t keep the bitterness from Barry’s words out of his own voice as he replied. “Plenty, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, actually,” Barry snapped, shaking his head in apparent frustration. “My co-workers barely tolerate me as it is; they’re not exactly going to be happy when they find out about you – which is going to happen pretty quickly if you keep stopping by the damn building all the time.” He was still walking so quickly, and now Len was even struggling to keep up without breaking into a light jog.

Still, he pressed on.

“They don’t sound like the kind of people whose opinions should matter to you.”

“Why? Because they’re cops?” Barry demanded. “Because, news flash, I’m basically a cop too.”

“No,” Len said. He shook his head, reaching out to grab hold of Barry’s arm to stop him from storming off like he so clearly wanted to. But what _Len_ wanted was for his soulmate to stop twisting his words. “Because they’re obviously idiots if they can’t see how amazing you are.”

“Oh, cut it out,” Barry muttered, his eyes sharp and irate. “What are you really looking to get out of this?”

“You,” Len said instantly. For a moment, he was angry too. Len had given Barry plenty of chances to pull away from this relationship, the kid didn’t need to start a fight to end this. If he wanted Len gone, then all he had to do was say the words rather than trying to drag him through the mud to make himself feel better.

But Len couldn’t stay angry for long. His rage began to slip almost instantly to be replaced by an emotion much rawer. Len fought the change every second of the way, but his anger was soon gone completely, and what was left was just a pit inside his heart. Len was usually so good at hiding his feelings away in a box, hidden from even himself, but right now… he just didn’t have the energy to. He wasn’t used to wearing his emotions on his sleeve, not even around Mick or Lisa.

Len was a cold hard bastard to everyone he met.

But he didn’t want to be that to Barry too.

There was a look of shock crossing Barry’s features now as he studied Len, silent, and it made Len’s stomach twist into knots. He didn’t want to be closed off to Barry, his soulmate; however, Len struggled to open his mouth and continue. But he did it anyway, his words coming out so much softer than he had intended.

“I want you.”

It was as simple as that, it really was. There was just this energy about Barry which drew Len in; and the more he got to know his soulmate, the more in awe Len became. He wanted Barry, now and always.

And he thought that, maybe, Barry wanted him too.

Len stepped forward and raised his hand to cup Barry’s face, soft and gentle, and he stared across into those wide, beautiful, green eyes. There was so much emotion lit up beneath them, so much anguish which made Len’s heart throb.

He wanted to brush away all of Barry’s pain, and if that meant leaving Barry alone, then he’d do it. Len had never been selfless before, but this didn’t feel like a selfless act anyway. He wanted Barry to be happy more than he wanted to be happy himself, so to turn away and leave… as much as it would hurt, it would also be a comfort to know that his soulmate wasn’t burdened by his presence anymore.

But for as much pain as there was behind Barry’s eyes, there was an equal amount of fondness, and passion, and a damn good touch of confusion too. And Len thought that maybe Barry didn’t really want him to go after all.

Maybe they had a chance.

“I feel like I’m a different person when I’m around you,” Len told him, admitting his terrifying truth. Barry just stared back, speechless. “Barry, I can’t get you out of my head.”

He couldn’t. Len had never met another man who could capture Len’s attention so completely before. Just being around Barry gave Len the exact same rush as he felt when facing up against the Flash… when being Captain Cold. And actually meeting a man like that… a man who could rival the greatest moment of Len’s life…

Barry was an incredible enigma. He had been through so much at such a young age, but he’d never allowed it to dull that spark of light behind his eyes, never let it change him. He was so strong and so very good. It shouldn’t have been as enticing as it was, not to Len, not to a criminal, and a thief, and a murderer. Not to a man who had given in to his own darkness so long ago.

But it was.

Barry was fascinating. He was smart, and funny, and beautiful, and – day or night – Len couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“And you know what? I don’t want to.” Len laughed, shaking his head. He swiped softly at Barry’s cheek with his thumb and smiled even as his stomach rolled and lurched with nerves. “You’re amazing, and even if you weren’t my soulmate, I would still want you. Being around you is effortless.” Barry still looked so shocked by Len’s admission, and Len was a little surprised too. Surprised that he could even find the words in him to tell Barry how he felt and surprised that he was even letting the words flow in the first place. “You’re the last thing I think about before I go to sleep, and you’re the first person I want to see when I wake up.”

Len was still cupping Barry’s face, and Barry lifted his hand to rest on top of Len’s.

And there was a moment where it looked as though he was going to talk…

But then his phone rang.

The noise seemed to snap Barry out of whatever reverie he’d been in, pulling him away from whatever he’d found inside Len’s eyes.

Len’s hands fell away to his side as Barry stepped back and pulled his phone out of his pocket, answering it immediately. He turned away, and Len had no choice but to stand there and wait while his heart was beating heavily in his throat.

But when Barry did turn back to Len, the look in his eyes told him everything that he needed to know.

“I have to go,” Barry said, barely even meeting Len’s gaze.

Len nodded, the movement stiff and jerky, but Barry didn’t even seem to notice as he was already rushing away. The phone was still pressed to his ear as Barry listened to… whoever it was that was more important to him than Len was.

That wasn’t fair, Len knew. He didn’t have a monopoly on Barry’s time, and he didn’t deserve it.

Yet, still, he would have liked _some_ kind of acknowledgement about where they stood.

Something… _anything_ …

But Barry just rushed away, putting as much space between himself and Len as quickly as he could, and Len went back to his safehouse, alone.

[] [] []

“– _You alright there, Barry_?–” Cisco asked through the comms. He was the only one at the lab now, watching over Barry’s vitals as Caitlin and Wells had gone home for the night; Wells only after giving Barry the strangest look imaginable as though he knew exactly what thoughts were swimming around inside his head.

If he did, Barry wished he would share, because he currently had _no clue_ how he felt.

“– _You’ve been acting a little off all night_ –”

Yeah, there was a reason for that…

Barry finished dropping off the burglars he had apprehended in front of the precinct and sighed.

“I’m just tired.” It was an age-old excuse, but he didn’t know how much else he could say… Caitlin had been kidnapped by Len and tied to a bomb just last week, so how was Barry going to tell his friends that Leonard Snart was his soulmate?

“– _Why don’t we call it a night? It’s getting late_ –”

It _was_ late, but Barry didn’t know if he could go home yet, back to his lonely little apartment.

But it wasn’t fair to keep Cisco here any longer, either. It was just selfish to keep him up while Barry ran around the city to avoid confronting his own feelings. So, he agreed to just call it a night and went back to STAR Labs.

Cisco gave him a sleepy smile, and that only made Barry feel worse.

He said goodnight to his friend, and they went their separate ways, heading home. Though Barry’s apartment didn’t really feel like home tonight. He felt cold and empty as he pushed open the door and turned on the lights.

The leather jacket was still lying there on his coach, untouched.

Barry wanted to just throw it out of the window and be done with it all; he wanted to take the easy way out. But that was what had got him in this mess, to begin with.

Barry hadn’t meant to lash out at Len, but Joe had gotten inside his head and made him doubt everything he thought he knew about his soulmate. About what Len meant to him and what he meant to Len. And it had been so difficult to deny, because Joe hadn’t said anything that Barry wasn’t already concerned about, and having those fears voiced aloud by someone else had made them _real_.

And then Len had been there, looking so hot and talking so sweet, and wanting to find a place inside Barry’s life. And Barry wanted that too, but that just made him _scared_.

He’d tried to push Len away because that was just the easiest thing to do.

But then… then the mask which so often adorned Len’s face had begun to crack and, within the span of a blink of an eye, it was gone completely. Underneath, Len looked positively _lovelorn_. And when he spoke, his voice was so quiet, barely more than a whisper, but Barry could feel it resonating in his bones. The emotions behind his words made them powerful, so powerful that Barry felt small in comparison. His voice was filled with so much sorrowful, gut-wrenching, loving emotion that it gave Barry chills.

And he supposed that it had never really hit him until that moment, but right then he’d known that Len was _all-in_ in this relationship. Barry shouldn’t have been surprised by that since the guy had been chasing him since the very beginning, but it _was_ a surprise. He realised that, ever since Len had revealed they were soulmates, a part of Barry had been questioning whether or not this was all just some big joke to him. After all, what would a world-renowned criminal do with _Barry Allen_ as a soulmate?

But now…

Barry believed him.

Everything which Len had said this past week, everything he had done, every claim he’d made, every word of it, Barry believed.

He shouldn’t like Len. He had to keep telling himself that over and over again – and had been doing it since long before he’d discovered they were soulmates – that he shouldn’t like Len. They weren’t right for each other. A villain and a hero; a criminal and a CSI… They were so wrong for one another that the thought of being in a relationship with Leonard Snart seemed impossible.

And yet here they were.

Len said he felt like a different person when they were together, and Barry might have thought that was just a come-on. But he felt like a different person too.

He’d been wondering all week whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but now he thought that perhaps it was both. Barry didn’t feel like the same man he’d been before he’d touched Len’s soulmark last week, and that was scary. It felt as though he was losing a part of himself.

But he was also gaining a part: an extra shoulder to carry the weight of his troubles, an extra hand to help him up when he was feeling down, an extra heart to beat beside his own. It was all of that and so much more, and it made Barry feel complete. His life was far from perfect, he still had so much he needed to do, and he was still so far away from freeing his father from prison… but Barry felt whole now in a way that he’d never done before.

And as Barry thought about it, sitting there on his sofa, he realised that was all that mattered in the end. He liked being around Len, he enjoyed talking to him and just being in the man’s presence. As strange as it might be, Barry liked Captain Cold. The rest of what he’d said tonight was true: Joe didn’t like Len, his co-workers would hate Barry if they ever found out about his soulmate, and his friends at STAR Labs would surely have a difficult time getting past everything Len had done.

But, at the end of the day, Barry couldn’t live his life based on what other people thought of him and his choices. Whether or not he wanted a relationship with Leonard was _his_ decision to make, and no one else’s. The only person whose opinion mattered right now was his own. And perhaps he was going to make the wrong move, maybe he should be more cautious, but Barry didn’t care about that right now. He’d been careful in love all his life, but Barry couldn’t play things safe any longer. He liked Len. He wanted to be with him!

There were so many ways this could blow up in his face, and maybe – if Barry was _entirely_ honest here – he wasn’t ready for that yet, but he could take the first step, at least.

Barry removed his mobile from his pocket, thinking to call Len up and talk to him. But this wasn’t the kind of conversation to have over the phone. He could always ask for Len’s address and go to meet him, but then he wouldn’t be able to just run on over without giving up the Big Secret™ that he wasn’t quite ready to share. And, anyway, there was a part of Barry who kind of wanted to be dramatic about this whole thing. He thought Len might appreciate that.

So, Barry rang Felicity instead and got her to trace Len’s phone number. She did, and Barry had a location in less than a minute. He wanted to beg her not to tell anyone about this, but he figured that would just make her more curious and that probably wouldn’t be the best idea right now. Not until _after_ he’d spoken to Len and figured out how they were going to move forward; after that… he’d look at telling his friends about his soulmate.

Before Barry left to find Len, he grabbed that leather jacket off his couch and gave into his temptations to finally pull it on over his shoulders. If tonight went well, Len surely wouldn’t mind Barry wearing it every now and then. And if it didn’t… well, he could just hand it over right now and not have to worry about seeing it in his apartment day in and day out.

The leather was soft and cool to the touch, but it quickly warmed up to a comfortable heat over Barry’s chest and torso. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and grinned at his appearance. He didn’t look particularly amazing – his hair was a bit tousled, and he had bags under his eyes from not having slept properly ever since this soulmate palaver started; plus Len’s jacket was about a size or two too big on Barry’s shoulders to actually look casual – but he found that he didn’t really care about any of that. Not tonight.

Barry felt a nervous thrill run through his body as he stepped towards his apartment door. He could barely believe that he was actually doing this, but it felt right.

He wanted to be with Len.

And so, he stepped out of his apartment and ran away, ran towards his soulmate.

The house he found himself standing in front of moments later was a little bungalow located near the centre of the city. It was pleasantly decorated from the outside and completely unassuming, sitting on a surprisingly quiet road, the heavy bustle of bar-goers just a few streets away barely even audible from here.

Barry walked up the paved-over garden to knock on the door, his hands shaking with nerves. He worried for a moment if he’d made the wrong choice coming here tonight. Perhaps he should have called ahead after all? Maybe Len was busy? Maybe he was asleep and didn’t appreciate the intrusion? Barry didn’t like the idea of being a burden on his soulmate, but it was already too late to change his mind and come at this in another way. He just had to wait and see.

After a moment, Len opened the door, looking clearly surprised to see Barry here. But his face soon closed off as though he remembered how badly being vulnerable and honest with Barry had gone earlier tonight. That made Barry’s stomach twist up into knots. But he tried to not let it show.

“Hey,” he said, giving as easy-going a smile as he could muster underneath Len’s flat gaze.

“Barry,” Len nodded. His voice almost held the same amount of distaste to it as it would have if the Flash had shown up at his door – of course, the Flash _had_ done just that, but Len didn’t know about that part yet – and it made Barry’s heart begin to ache. He had to remind himself that it wasn’t real; Len cared about Barry, he was just hurting. After all, that was why Barry was here now, standing on his front porch, to put it all right again.

He just hoped that it wasn’t too late.

“I’m sorry that I skipped out on you earlier,” Barry said, silently pleading that Len could see the truth behind his words. “I was a little overwhelmed.” He laughed nervously as Len just continued to study him critically. “Still am, actually. But I’m ready to talk about this… if you still want to.”

Len’s face softened, and Barry sighed in relief as the door was pushed open a little more to invite him inside.

“How did you find this place?” Len asked. He didn’t sound mad about Barry just showing up here – which was good – but he was certainly surprised by it.

Barry shrugged as he followed Len out of the narrow hallway and into a living room. “I might have asked a friend to track your phone.”

“Someone at the CCPD?” Again, Len didn’t sound angry at the thought. He seemed to trust Barry enough to not let on who it was he was tracing and why; trusted him not to lead the police to his doorstep.

“Not exactly,” Barry said, shaking his head. “She’s a hacker.”

“How illicit of you,” Len drawled, smirking. “I approve.” Barry shook his head again and looked around the room they were standing in. He realised pretty quickly then that this was not Len’s real place; it was too sparsely decorated for anyone to call it home. And considering how recently he’d televised his fight with the Flash and escaped police custody…

This was a safehouse. It had to be. Barry knew it and, by the look on Len’s face, he knew that Barry knew it too.

Len looked as though he was waiting for him to blow up and leave again…

But Barry just gave an awkward smile and sat down on the couch. Len stayed standing, leaning casually against the doorframe.

“So,” Len said, still looking a little standoffish. Barry couldn’t blame him for that, though, couldn’t blame him for being wary after Barry had caused him pain. “What is it that you’ve gone through all that trouble to come here and say?”

It wasn’t really trouble… the whole process had only taken about a minute – and that included travelling time – but it probably wasn’t a good idea to let Len onto the fact that his ‘hacker friend’ was that good at what she did. If only because Len might get the horrible notion in his head to try to _contact_ Felicity for her work and that… that wouldn’t go down too well. It was a recipe for disaster, and that was before you even took into account that Len had actually _met_ Felicity as one of the Flash’s cohorts. Given that he’d been able to track down Caitlin, Barry figured Len had also identified Cisco and Felicity too, which was absolutely not good.

Barry shook his head of those thoughts. Len had promised that he wasn’t going to hurt or endanger anyone anymore, so dwelling on what he and Mick Rory had done to Caitlin last week wasn’t doing him any good. Barry couldn’t brood over the past; it was the future that mattered. _Their_ future. Together.

… Hopefully, anyway.

“Did you mean everything you told me tonight?” Barry asked though he was pretty confident that he knew the answer to that question already.

Len nodded, though he didn’t speak. That was fine, though, because it was Barry’s turn to do the talking.

“Good,” Barry said, nervous. He resisted the urge to squirm or fidget. “That’s… I mean… I feel the same.” God, that was pathetic. Surely, he could do better than _that_.

He shook his head again and stood up. Len waited, unmoving, as Barry stepped closer. He looked as though he didn’t know what to make of this, and Barry didn’t blame him. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic confession that he could muster, but he was determined to do better.

“Look, I don’t know how this is going to work,” Barry admitted. “But I still want to figure it out, no matter how long it takes.” Barry lifted his hand to Len’s arm, feeling that firm muscle under his shirt. Len didn’t seem to mind the contact – in fact, his face softened even more from the physical comfort – so Barry drifted his fingers down Len’s arm until he was holding his hand. “I like you. And I’m sorry that I got a little –” _a lot_ “– freaked out back there. That was my own baggage, and it wasn’t fair to dump it on you.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Len said simply. After a moment, though, he smiled. “But I can forgive you.”

Barry laughed, feeling the knot in his chest open up a little more and more with each passing second of staring into Len’s eyes.

“You mean a lot to me,” he insisted, giving Len’s hand a soft squeeze. “And we barely even know each other, but I’d like that to change.” He really, _really_ , would; and, thankfully, Len still seemed inclined to give it a shot too. “I’d like to get to know you better, and not just because you’re my soulmate, but because you make me happy. You like to pretend that you’re some big bad guy, but you’re really just a bit of a geek with a penchant for puns.”

Len laughed, and it made Barry’s heart swell; there really was just something about him that made Barry smile. And when Len looked at Barry like this – like he was Len’s everything – it made him feel as though he’d won the god damn lottery.

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Barry,” he drawled. “I _am_ plenty bad.” It was a tease, of course, but it was more than that. It was Len reminding Barry that he was a criminal and that he wasn’t about to give that life up.

Barry nodded. “I know.” And it wasn’t going to be easy, but… “But I’m okay with that.”

“And your friends? Family? Co-workers?”

“They don’t get a say in this.”

That seemed to chip away at that last tiny bit of ice remaining in Len’s eyes. Barry’s words, or perhaps the fervency with which he spoke them, really sending home the message to Len that he had a place inside Barry’s life.

He stood up a little straighter from where he’d been leaning against the doorframe, pushing further into Barry’s space. The hand that wasn’t holding onto Barry’s came up to rest on the lapel of his leather jacket, and he smirked.

“I was wondering where this had gone to,” Len drawled, his eyes slowly roaming up to meet Barry’s again while Barry laughed. “It looks good on you.” His hand found its way to Barry’s skin, his fingers delicately brushing against the side of Barry’s neck and giving him chills.

Len leant in and kissed him, and Barry melted against his lips.

His heart skipped as Len licked into his mouth, and like that the last of the tension drained from his shoulders. Len liked him, and he liked Len, and right now, that was all that mattered. He was in Len’s arms, and he was happy.

Barry pushed forward until Len’s back hit the doorframe and the air gasped out of him, but Barry was all too happy to take advantage of that, his hand dropping Len’s in favour of cupping the man’s jaw instead. Len’s now-free hand came to rest at Barry’s lower back, holding him close, their hips colliding. And Barry wanted to press in further, wanted to slip his thigh in between Len’s, wanted to tear his clothes off.

But he could feel the electricity in his veins sparking to life, and Barry knew he couldn’t obey his carnal desires without exposing himself in an entirely different way.

Barry pulled away, pressing his forehead against Len’s and breathing heavily to calm himself down. For a moment, Len’s hold on his body tightened as though he was going to dive back in and recapture Barry’s lips.

But then he seemed to make the conscious effort to relax, his grip loosening to easily allow Barry to pull away further if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

But he had to.

Barry looked up into Len’s shining eyes, dark with lust, and it took everything in his power not to just throw caution to the wind.

“I’m…” Len’s eyes dropped to Barry’s lips. _Fuck_. “I’m not ready yet.”

“You’re worth the wait,” Len drawled, and it sent a shiver down Barry’s body. “Do you want to leave?”

Barry shook his head. He wanted nothing less, and Len didn’t seem a fan of the idea either. So, they moved to the sofa, and they started talking about lighter topics. But it really was getting late, and Barry’s eyes soon began to blur. Within the hour, they were both asleep, cuddled up on the sofa together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing Len's confession here, even if it is probably a little out of character for him to admit that Barry meant so much to him while they barely even knew each other. But, hell, Len is a man who knows what he wants and he isn't inclined to hold back


	5. Chapter 5

When Barry woke up the next morning, he was ridiculously happy. Happy and warm and feeling incredibly affectionate. However, his morning bliss was ever so slightly lessened as he realised that he wasn’t in Leonard’s arms anymore.

Barry was still on the sofa, and there was a blanket now pulled over his body, but Len had somehow managed to slip away undetected by a snoozing Barry. That made him feel a little sad, but only until he yawned and heaved in a deep breath through his nose, inhaling the beautiful scent of breakfast frying away in the kitchen.

He smiled and kicked the blanket off, stretching on the couch for a moment before pulling himself up and plodding along to find Len.

Barry got into the hallway of the bungalow before he heard voices coming from the kitchen and realised that he and Len were not alone anymore. He froze in the doorway, uncertain. He had no idea that Len had been expecting company today… Perhaps he hadn’t been. Maybe it was a last-minute visitor?

Did that mean that Barry should go in and say hi, or hang back and wait for the man to leave? Was it business? Was it personal? Barry had no idea, so he decided the best thing to do would just be to go back to the couch. If Len wanted him, he would come to wake him up, right?

Barry nodded to himself and began to back away from the hallway again.

But then his ears picked up on a thread of the conversation coming from the kitchen, and he froze.

“So, when we takin’ this scientist?” the man who was definitely _not_ Leonard Snart said. Barry’s breath caught in his throat. There was no way that they were talking to _Len_ , right? They had to be on the phone… or perhaps there was a third person in the kitchen that Barry hadn’t heard speak yet?

It couldn’t be to _Len_ , because Len had given Barry his word that he wasn’t going to do that anymore.

Barry didn’t want to listen in. He trusted Len; he trusted his soulmate.

He was just going to go back to the sofa, maybe hunt down a remote and turn the TV on. That’s what he was going to do.

That’s what he _wanted_ to do.

But his feet didn’t obey his mind, and they stayed stuck there as though glued to the spot as he heard his soulmate’s response.

“Would you be quiet?” Len hissed at his visitor in a much lower tone of voice than the other man had spoken in. It was low enough that Barry had to strain to hear it, though he shouldn’t.

He trusted Len.

He shouldn’t be listening in.

He _shouldn’t_!

But if Len _was_ going against his word, if he was planning on kidnapping someone… and a _scientist_ , no less…

It could very well be one of Barry’s friends at STAR Labs.

Len had promised he wasn’t going to do that anymore, and Barry had believed him. But what if he was only blind to the truth? Was he really so easy to manipulate that Captain Cold could just say some sap to him, and Barry would turn to putty in his hands?

Barry didn’t want to believe it, but he also couldn’t leave. Not if he had any reason to think that his soulmate was going to abduct one of his friends. Or anyone else, for that matter.

If Barry had even the _slightest_ inkling that Len was going back on their deal, then he didn’t have the luxury of burying his head in the sand.

He didn’t want to believe it, but Barry knew that he couldn’t just dismiss the idea either. And now his mind was spinning around and around, making him feel nauseous.

Right up until Len said: “We’re not doing that anymore.”

The relief that Barry was flooded with felt like a physical attack on his lungs as he was finally able to breathe again.

“I thought that’s how we’re getting our guns back,” the visitor – who Barry could now safely assume was Mick Rory – demanded, not sounding happy. Now the only thing that was stopping Barry from retreating back to the sofa was his worry for Len. Mick was a big guy, and Barry didn’t like to imagine how he would react if Len pissed him off.

“It was… but not anymore,” Len continued. “We’re going to have to build them ourselves.”

“You say that like it’s easy. Let me remind you, we’re not engineers.”

“Mick, you took that gun apart a million times. You probably know that thing better than the guy who made it. Are you really telling me you wouldn’t know how to build it if I got you the materials?”

“I’m sayin’ why make it ourselves when we can get some poor sap to do it for us.”

“Because I say so.” Len’s voice was commanding now, powerful, not to be trifled with. It reminded Barry that, with or without the cold gun, Len could look after himself just fine. Barry didn’t need to be worried – and either way, the argument seemed to be dying down again now – so he slunk away from the door and wrapped himself back up in the blanket. And as he lay there quietly, Barry thought about Len, his soulmate, the man who had just proved his loyalty to Barry without even knowing it.

He thought about Len as the conversation in the kitchen faded out, and Mick left in a huff.

Then Barry got up and snuck past the kitchen to the bathroom, washing up quickly and gargling a bit of mouthwash. He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror for a moment, giving himself an internal pep-talk before moving out to find Len in the kitchen, frying some turkey bacon and what looked to be beef sausages. They looked good. But Len looked better as he stood there in a pair of loose-fitting pants and nothing else. And Barry did mean _nothing_ else because the pants were hanging so low on his hips, but there wasn’t a single sign of any briefs underneath. He was facing the cooker, his back turned to the doorway, but Barry could see the edges of their soulmark on his hip.

Barry must have made some sound – perhaps a breathless sigh at Len’s beauty? – because Len was soon turning to look at him, smiling, happy. Barry couldn’t help but notice a few scars adorning his chest, and they momentarily distracted him, but he chose not to ask about them. Not now. If Len wanted Barry to know, then he’d tell him.

Instead, Barry’s gaze returned to those shining blue eyes staring back at him.

“Hey,” Len said, and Barry just wanted to kiss him, so that’s what he did. It was just a soft kiss, just a gentle press of lips, but when Len wrapped him in his arms, fitting his hand against Barry’s lower back, it made his heart skip.

When he pulled away, Barry just pressed his forehead against Len’s and sighed, perfectly content.

“I could get used to hello’s like that,” Len drawled, and Barry gave him one last quick peck before pulling away completely.

“Good,” he said because he wasn’t planning on going anywhere any time soon.

Or, at least, Barry _hoped_ not.

But it might not be his call to make…

Len seemed to notice the nervous energy filling Barry all of a sudden, the way his smile was becoming just a little too tight and uncomfortable. He turned the burner down underneath the frying pan and reached out to Barry again, rubbing soothing circles against the skin on the back of his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

Barry gave as good as a reassuring smile as he could muster. “Absolutely nothing.”

Len didn’t seem to be buying it.

“You sure about that?”

“I…” The words got stuck in Barry’s windpipes, and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I have something to show you, but I’m a little worried about how you’re going to react.”

Len laughed at that as though it was the funniest thing in the world.

It did nothing to ease Barry’s nerves.

“Barry, you’re a cop, and we first met while I was in handcuffs, being arrested by your foster father and your best friend’s soulmate…” Len listed off. “If you can look past all of that, I’m sure I can give the same courtesy.”

Barry’s heart was racing painfully fast in his chest.

“But what if I told you that… that wasn’t the first time we met?” he asked, nervous. “That we’d seen each other before? A few times, actually.”

Len laughed as though Barry was talking nonsense. “I think I’d remember you.”

And here it was, the point of no return. Was Barry really ready to give Leonard Snart his identity as the Flash, to open up to him wholly in a way only a few people had ever known?

Barry could always back down now. Turn it into a joke, a flirt, an ‘ _oh, I guess that must have just been in my dreams_ ’.

Len wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Barry _could_ back down.

However… “Not if I was wearing a mask.”

Barry trusted Len – his soulmate – and was ready to be honest with him.

He just hoped that Len was ready to hear it.

If Barry expected the truth to dawn on his soulmate slowly, that his smile would just gradually slip from his lips and his eyes would go wide, he was to be disappointed. Because that wasn’t the case.

Instead, Len clicked onto Barry’s meaning almost instantly, his expression shutting off to be replaced by something much colder. An expression that Barry hadn’t seen on his soulmate since he’d last gone against him as the Flash before any of this mess started to unravel.

And it _was_ a mess; the Flash and Captain Cold as soulmates… it was a disaster waiting to happen. But it was _their_ mess: Len and Barry’s. Together, he thought that they could get through anything, and that included this moment right now.

He hoped.

But Len was still just staring at him, unspeaking, like Barry had grown a second head. If that second head was covered in a red tri-polymer cowl, that is.

“Len?” Barry asked, getting worried. Len wouldn’t use this against him. He _wouldn’t_. Barry trusted him unreservedly with his identity as well as his heart, and he was so damn sure that Len wouldn’t use either of them against him.

That didn’t stop Barry from worrying, however, about how his soulmate was taking this news. Leonard Snart and the Flash… they didn’t get along. So, for Len, compiling the image he had in his head of Barry with the image of the Flash could end up being as hard as it had been for Barry to do the same thing with Len and Captain Cold. Merging the idea of someone you should hate with someone you were beginning to love and trust was difficult, and Barry just wished that he could help.

His hand twitched with the need to reach out to Len now, to offer his support. But Barry figured right now that he was the last person who’s help Len would want, and that hurt, but it was more than fair.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Barry but was in reality only a few seconds, Len squared his jaw and spoke. “Prove it.”

Barry wondered if Len actually thought he was lying about this, or whether he just _hoped_ it. Neither option felt particularly good.

But Len wanted proof to help him through this, and that – at least – Barry could offer.

The safehouse that they were standing in – and the fact that Barry was completely fine with spending time with his soulmate in a safehouse, to begin with, should have been a big sign announcing how he felt – was only a few streets away from Jitters. Barry turned on his heels and ran straight there. He didn’t have the time to make himself and Len any type of coffee right now, neither did he think he could stomach the caffeine, so Barry just picked up a half a dozen pastries and ran back to his soulmate.

In real-time, Barry was only gone for a couple of seconds, but he still worried that Len wouldn’t be there anymore when he got back to the loft. He feared that Len would have ducked out the moment Barry’s back was turned and made a run for it. So, when he arrived back at the safehouse and his soulmate was still standing there – looking a little freaked out, though he was clearly trying his best to hide that – Barry was flooded with relief.

“Cronut?” he asked, offering Len a wonky smile as he opened the box of pastries to him. Len looked down at the box and then back up at Barry’s eyes. Slowly, wordlessly, he shook his head. “Okay…” Barry muttered to himself and dropped the box down onto the nearby table. “I can get you something else if you want. Anything, really, I just–”

“I don’t want anything.” Len’s voice wasn’t closed off anymore, it was open and raw, but Barry was struggling to decipher what the emotion was beneath it. Anger? Pain? Resentment? Betrayal? That had to be what Len was feeling, but none of it seemed to fit quite right

“I’m sorry,” Barry said, filled with regret. Not about telling Len the truth, though, because that was the only thing he was sure about right now. No, Barry’s only regret there was that he kept it a secret for as long as he had. “I should have told you sooner.”

Len burst out laughing then, and it made Barry jump in shock, floundering for a moment in uncertainty.

“Barry,” Len said, shaking his head. He was still smiling, but it seemed pained. Though not for the reasons that Barry had expected. “I’m surprised that you even told me at all. After everything I’ve done… to your friends, to you…” Len shook his head. “How can you trust me?”

Barry’s heart began to ache then. He realised that Len wasn’t mad at him, he was mad at _himself_ , and that was infinitely worse. Barry surged across the small space between them and cupped Len’s jaw with both of his hands. His grasp was firm but caring as he stared into Len’s beautiful blues eyes.

“I trust you because you’re my soulmate,” he said. And it was true, but he certainly didn’t stop there. There was so much more than that to this – to _them_ – than fate, and Len deserved to hear it all. “Because you’ve gone out of your way to make me feel at home in your life, because you wanted to be in mine too, no matter how difficult that was for you,” he said. “I trust you because you made me a promise, and you stuck to it. I know because I overheard your conversation with Mick.” Well, ‘ _overheard_ ’ was probably too kind of a way to describe what Barry had done. He shook his head, ashamed. “And by that, I mean I listened in.

“I shouldn’t have,” he quickly continued. “You have absolutely nothing you need to prove to me, Len, but I got scared when I heard Mick talking about kidnapping a scientist.”

Len’s eyes went wide. “Barry…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Barry said, cutting off what appeared to be an apology because _he_ was the one apologising right now. Len did nothing wrong. “It doesn’t matter about whatever it was you had planned. All that I care about is that you decided against it. You listened to me, and you respected my feelings. But I couldn’t respect you by leaving when I should have. And I am so sorry.”

Len was staring back at Barry as though nothing he was saying was making any sense, as though he was talking gibberish. And Barry didn’t know whether that was a good or bad sign until Len closed his eyes and rested their foreheads together.

“I trust you,” Barry repeated as Len held him close. Len only laughed, the sound coming out a little startled, but still so warm and welcoming.

“You shouldn’t.”

“And I want to be with you.”

“You shouldn’t want that, either.”

Barry pulled back and looked his soulmate in the eyes. “No, I’m pretty sure that I should.”

Len kissed him then, kissed him like he’d lose Barry if he didn’t. His warm hand came to rest on Barry’s jaw as his lips worshipped Barry’s with every caress and every swipe of his tongue. Barry melted against him, all that tension relieved. Len didn’t care that Barry was the Flash, didn’t care that he’d kept it a secret, it hadn’t made him recoil in disgust.

He liked Barry.

And Barry liked him.

Right now, that was all that mattered.

Barry pushed closer to Len’s body, eager and knowing full-well that there was nothing stopping them this time. There was no reason for him to hold back.

All he wanted at this moment was to be with Len, and now he finally could.

Barry pulled back away from Len’s warm hands and wet kisses only long enough to tug his own shirt up and over his head, done in record time, tossing it onto the floor in his eagerness to feel the warmth of Len’s skin against his own.

Len licked back into Barry’s mouth, his bare chest pressed hot and firm against Barry’s. And when his hand drifted down and caressed Barry’s soulmark this time, Barry didn’t need to hold himself back. He just let his vibrations wreck through his entire body.

Len gasped against his lips in surprise, groaning against his skin; but he didn’t pull away, only pushing in closer and slotting his thigh in between Barry’s. “You’re incredible.”

Barry laughed, not necessarily because he thought it was funny, but because he was just so _God damn_ happy and it was the only thing that he could think to do which felt right. So, he laughed, and Len laughed, and it felt like their whole world just fell into place.

They kissed again, and it felt so amazing; it felt like they were the only two people in the entire world. His hand was still resting on Barry’s mark, and now Barry lifted his own hand to rest on Len’s. And, when he did, a feeling of complete euphoria passed between them.

Len pressed closer, his body a hard line against Barry’s, warm and firm. His hand began to travel south along Barry’s body, though the exhilaration and joy of his touch didn’t lessen any as his fingers left Barry’s mark. If anything, it only increased stronger and hotter as Len’s hand found the outline of Barry’s erection and cupped him through his jeans.

Barry moaned, gasping for breath, and Len’s lips took a moment to suck at Barry’s earlobe instead, toying the skin with his teeth. Barry’s hand came up to cup the back of Len’s neck and hold him there, tilting his head to the side to give Len as much access as he could.

Len licked around the shell of his ear, his breath hot against Barry’s skin. He pulled away only long enough to whisper: “How do you want me?”

Barry bit against his own lip to stifle his groan. He knew exactly what he wanted this morning; he wanted Len inside of him, like right _freaking_ now!

But he didn’t know how to articulate that without blushing like a damn fool. Though maybe that didn’t matter? Because Len was palming his cock, rubbing him through his jeans while he nibbled on his ear, and it was driving Barry insane.

He could barely hold back a vibration long enough to gasp out “Fuck me” without his voice being affected.

Len didn’t seem to mind, though, he just gave Barry’s cock an extra squeeze and pulled back, grinning.

“Gladly,” he drawled, giving Barry a wink. He stepped back completely, and Barry was left feeling cold from the loss of his body heat. But he wasn’t gone for long, he just moved to dig something out of a carrier bag resting on the counter. He returned a few seconds later with a small bottle of lube and box of condoms.

He dropped them both onto the table and immediately turned to kiss Barry. His tongue delved deep into Barry’s mouth while his hands guided him back until his legs hit the edge of the table, the bottle of lube falling onto its side from the contact. Barry broke the kiss gasping as their bodies aligned and slotted against one another, Len’s thick, hard cock pressing directly against Barry’s through the scant layers of clothing that separated their aching erections.

Barry slipped his hand down the back of Len’s sweatpants, cupping his ass and kneading it as he attempted to pull Len even closer while he ground back with his hips. It felt so amazing, but Barry was desperate for more. Len leant forward, pressing his hands flat against the table, caging Barry inside of his arms and using it as leverage as he drove his hips, rolling his hard cock directly against Barry’s body.

Another, more powerful vibration wrecked through Barry, licking at Len’s skin everywhere they touched.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Len gasped and groaned, immediately lifting his hand to cup Barry’s jaw again, kissing him fiercely.

Barry used both of his hands to pull at the waistband of Len’s pants, tugging them down past his erection until they dropped with a light thud to the tiled floor below. Len moaned, rocking his hips forward again, and Barry couldn’t help but break their kiss so that he could look down to appreciate Len’s hard, weeping cock. It was thick, and pink, and cut, and Barry’s mouth ran dry with the urge to wrap his lips around it.

But Len had other plans right now.

He pushed Barry back, encouraging him to sit up on the table behind, and made quick work of the button and zip on his jeans, yanking them down Barry’s legs to free his eager dick. Barry grabbed tightly against Len’s shoulders and pulled him back in with so much force that he accidentally fell back against the wood table behind, his elbow squishing the box of pastries he’d bought, but Barry paid that no mind as he swiped the box from the table to give them more room.

Barry scooched up to lie more comfortably on the table while Len draped over him, pressing him down into the cool wooden surface below, such a contrast to Len’s warm body and hot cock, pressing against his thigh.

Len leant there over him and began to roam fierce, wet kisses along Barry’s jaw and down his neck. His hand brushed their soulmark on Barry’s hip, and Barry gasped as he felt the touch spark throughout his body.

It was simultaneously too much and not enough…

He wanted to slow things down, to take his time and learn every inch of Len’s body before they made fervent love to each other, just like Barry had always imagined his first time with his soulmate would be like. But, try as he might, Barry knew that wasn’t going to happen this morning. Right now, his body was quaking uncontrollably with _need_ , and he felt so desperate to have Len’s cock pressing firmly inside his body that Barry just didn’t know how much longer he could wait.

His hand shot to the table behind, searching for that bottle of lube. But instead, it fell on the box of condoms. Barry pulled back ever so slightly from Len’s tongue on his neck, flushing a bright and hot red.

“We, err… We won’t need these,” Barry said, lifting the box up to eye height so that Len knew what he was talking about. “Perks of superpowers: I can’t catch anything, can’t pass anything on,” he continued, biting nervously at his bottom lip, feeling scorching hot under Len’s beautiful gaze. “And… And I want to feel _you_ inside me.” In fact, Barry couldn’t think of anything hotter than that.

“Suits me,” Len grinned, taking the box from Barry’s hand, and chucking it carelessly back over his shoulder onto the kitchen floor.

And then Len was back on top of him, his hand finding that bottle of lube, quickly tearing at the plastic seal and clicking the lid open. Before Barry knew it, Len’s fingers were coated in the cool liquid and parting Barry’s ass to press at his eager hole.

He stayed there for a moment, rubbing Barry’s rim while his mouth travelled down to latch over Barry’s nipple. He scraped his teeth down over the sensitive skin as he pressed his first finger inside, and Barry dug his fingernails down into the table beneath him, leaving scratch marks against the wood as he gasped and writhed on top of it.

Once the initial burst of pleasure had quelled, Barry glanced back down and made eye contact with his soulmate. Len sent him a wink as he continued to kiss and lick and toy with Barry’s nipple, all the while pressing deeper and deeper inside his hole.

Len soon continued his trail down Barry’s body with his lips and tongue, sucking hickeys lower and lower down Barry’s torso as he pressed his second finger against Barry’s rim. He didn’t push it inside though until his tongue had found Barry’s erection. Len smoothly pressed his lips down Barry’s length until his mouth was wrapped firmly around the base of his dick.

Barry _barely_ managed to hold back a vibration which threatened to overcome his entire body, whining and moaning on the table as he dug his nails back into the wood and felt it biting back at his skin. He knew it should hurt, but Barry could barely focus on the pain when Snart’s wet, hot mouth was sliding up and down his cock brutally fast while his fingers assaulted his hole with the same ferocity, barely allowing Barry the time to breathe.

And then, all too quickly, Len pulled away.

He licked his way up Barry’s body before slotting his tongue into his wanton mouth.

Barry tugged him closer and wrapped his legs around the back of his waist, feeling Len’s hard cock pressing against his own. Len rolled his hips forward, slowly dragging his dick against Barry’s body while he pushed a third finger into his tight hole.

Barry trembled and gasped.

 _Fuck_.

He wanted Len so badly that he didn’t think he could take it for much longer.

He tried to express his need by pressing his hips down against Len’s hand, silently begging him to _hurry the hell up_!

Len laughed against his lips while he continued to drag his fingers in and out of Barry’s hole, rubbing him raw and eliciting another deep moan and quaking vibration from Barry.

“I swear to God,” Barry complained, panting and clinging onto every part of Len that he could reach. “If you don’t get up here and fuck me...”

“You’ll what?” Len taunted, grinning wickedly. Barry groaned.

“I’ll come up with something appropriately punishing later,” he threatened, and Len gave a deep, satisfied hum as he thought that over, his fingers slowing in their torturous abuse of Barry’s ass. Finally, he nodded and pulled back enough that he could climb up on the table too, resting his body between Barry’s thighs.

Barry scooched back to give Len more room, his breath catching as he looked down between them. It was a sight to behold... Len kneeling on the table in between Barry’s wide-open legs, his cock hard and red and weeping, his lips pink and moist and kiss-bitten, his eyes darkened with lust.

It was such a sight that Barry just about lost his ability to breathe.

Len crawled up his body, the heat of his skin radiating outwards like a beautiful caress long before he pressed a wet kiss to Barry’s lips, their bodies slotting together again. The weight of Len’s erection on Barry’s pelvis was maddening.

Barry was shaking, vibrating, desperate and aching. But Len didn’t keep him waiting for much longer before he took his weeping cock in hand and guided it to Barry’s slick hole. Barry could feel it pressing firmly against his rim, feel his body opening up and giving way as he pushed inside. He could feel every inch of Len’s dick during the long slow glide into his body. Barry reached for Len, panting and gasping and writhing on the table. Len dipped down to kiss Barry while his cock continued its journey until he was fully sheathed inside Barry’s body.

And it felt good.

 _Christ_ , it felt so damn good!

Len’s cock was filling him up so completely that even the slightest twitch of either of their hips sent sparks of pleasure dancing across Barry’s skin and sinking into his aching muscles.

So, when Len actually _did_ start moving, rolling his hips gradually at first before going for longer, exaggerated movements, dragging his fat dick out of Barry’s body before slamming back inside again. Holy crap! It felt like electricity lightning up Barry’s veins.

Barry scratched his fingers down Len’s back, digging his nails in as he scrambled for purchase while moaning his name up to the heavens above. Len didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it seemed to only encourage him as he pounded his body against Barry’s, every single inward thrust of his hips steadily driving Barry insane.

He rocked his own body down in perfect harmony with Len’s thrusts, spreading his thighs as wide as he could, wanting Len as close as he could get him.

And then, Barry’s wandering hand found their soulmark on Len’s hip, and everything exploded into new light. Suddenly, they were no longer two separate people, they were one. One heart. One soul.

Len’s thrusts stuttered to a stop as they both gasped and moaned in unison. His cock was still buried deep inside Barry’s ass, their hot, slick bodies plastered against each other, naked skin against skin.

Barry surged up to capture Len’s mouth, the new angle of their bodies causing Len’s dick to ease out of Barry’s hole.

But Len was quick to snap his hips forward again with enough force to make the table rock unsteady beneath them. Barry didn’t pay attention to that, though. Couldn’t have paid attention to it if he’d wanted to, what with the stars lighting up his vision and his own moans of pleasure filling up his ears.

When Len continued his thrusts this time, it felt different than before, less fuelled by their bodies’ desires, and more by their souls’ love.

They truly were one now.

When Barry shook, so did Len. When Barry moaned, so did Len. And when Barry’s back arched up off the table, and his vision whited out...

They both came together in what was, without a doubt, the most intense orgasm of Barry’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are okay with this chapter!  
> I saw a few of you theorising about how Len would figure out Barry's secret, and I did initially want it to go down that way - with Len putting the pieces of the puzzle together himself - but after I got to the point in writing the last chapter where Len and Barry had their falling out, I realised that our boy deserved better than that. I don't think that I've ever written a fic before where Barry was the one to breach the secret identity plot, but it just felt right in this story. After everything that Len was willing to do for their relationship, it only felt fitting that Barry take that leap of faith.
> 
> So, yeah, perhaps this wasn't what some of you were expecting, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :)


	6. Chapter 6

So, Len’s soulmate was the Flash.

Just when he thought that he and Barry couldn’t be any more opposites… he found out _this_. He found out that he’d tried to kill Barry before they’d ever known each other. The thought made Len feel sick with worry, even though Barry had been able to brush it off and tell him it didn’t matter.

It _did_ matter.

And Len was going to spend the rest of his life making this up to Barry.

Right after he could move again.

Because… _wow_. There were definitely some perks to having sex with the Flash. The _vibrating_ for one; that was…

Len laughed, turning his head to look at Barry. His soulmate was cuddled up to him, both of them lying naked on the table still. Barry grinned back and kissed Len, and it made his heart flutter happily.

His soulmate was the Flash, but that was just one item on the ever-growing list of reasons why Barry Allen was able to take his breath away.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you speechless before,” Barry said, resting his head back down against Len’s chest. “I think I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You definitely should,” Len said, wrapping his hand around Barry’s waist and holding him tighter, rubbing his thumb against Barry’s bare skin. The table was getting increasingly uncomfortable to lie on, but Len didn’t care about that so long as he had Barry in his arms.

Unfortunately, though, it was about then that Len took a deep breath of a sigh and inhaled the scent of something burning on his stove.

 _Shit_.

Len tipped his head back, staring at the pan of turkey-bacon while he remembered that he had turned the heat down on it earlier, but never got around to switching it off completely. And now their breakfast was long since destroyed.

Barry followed his gaze and cursed too, zipping out of Len’s arms to pull the pan away from the heat, but it was far too late and blackened to a crisp.

And the box of pastries which Barry had brought them had been squished and flung onto the floor as Len had fucked Barry against the table.

“I guess we’re going out for breakfast,” Len said, sitting up and scooching off the table until he could put his feet back down on the cool tiled floor. Barry only shook his head and laughed, dropping the pan back onto the stove to be dealt with later. Then he pushed back into Len’s hold, plastering their bodies together as they kissed.

Len grabbed Barry’s naked ass and squeezed playfully, making his soulmate jump and laugh against his lips before finally pulling away.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked, and Len grinned wickedly.

“You.” Barry looked as though he was trying to give Len an unimpressed look at that response, but he was too busy flushing bright red for it to be effective. “But I suppose that can wait for dessert.”

“You think you’re so smooth, don’t you?”

Len pressed a short kiss to his soulmate’s lips. “I know I am.”

Barry laughed and left Len’s arms to start pulling on his clothes. He was talking about some place called Jitters that was nearby, and Len nodded along. He had heard of it though he’d never actually been in there before, but he was willing to go just about anywhere that Barry would ask of him. Len pulled his sweat pants back on and took a quick detour to run the burnt pan under hot water to soak while they were out. It was going to be a bitch to clean though… maybe he should just throw it away?

“My shirt is so creased,” Barry laughed, gaining Len’s attention again as he tried to straighten the garment out on the table. He was probably going to ask if Len had an iron in this safehouse; he did, but he had a better idea too.

“Then don’t wear it.”

“I don’t think that Jitters is a ‘ _shirts optional_ ’ kind of café.”

“Shame,” Len drawled, deliberately roaming his eyes across Barry’s topless form, paying particular attention to their soulmark on his hip. “But that’s not what I meant.” Barry only frowned back at him, waiting for him to continue. Len chose to run his fingers over his own leather jacket, resting on the back of the dining chair. The jacket he’d left at Barry’s apartment which currently he had no intention of taking back. Finally, Len looked over to Barry again and grinned. “You like my jacket so much, I thought you’d like one of my shirts too.”

Barry seemed to enjoy that idea as much as Len had hoped, smiling and following as Len led the way towards the bedroom. Truthfully, his options for shirts weren’t too varied – all similar in cut and material, in varying shades of grey, navy, and black – but Barry didn’t mind that as he picked out a dark blue top and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

He looked effortlessly amazing, and Len had to physically resist the urge to push him down on the bed and mark every patch of his skin that could. And if Len was physically capable of going for a second rough right now, he would have. But it would just have to wait until they were back from breakfast.

Len turned away and pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt, glad that he’d taken time to shower this morning before Mick had shown up unannounced to complain about missing his heat gun. And sure, that was technically Len’s fault – since he was the one to come up with a plan which involved losing their guns to the cops – but Len hadn’t appreciated the interruption to his calm morning with his soulmate.

Or, at least, he hadn’t appreciated it at the time.

Now… Len probably owed Mick an apology. If he hadn’t been here shouting about the scrapped plans to kidnap Cisco Ramon, then Barry would probably still be keeping his identity as the Flash a secret and this morning would have likely gone down very differently. Len had been perfectly happy to wait until Barry was ready to sleep with him. Well, perhaps not _happy_ ; he was immensely blue-balled… but he’d understood Barry hesitance and wasn’t going to push it.

But to finally get that release that he’d been yearning for felt fantastic.

Though that, of course, wasn’t the only reason why Len was thrilled that Barry had told him the truth. He was happy not only because of the gratifying nature in which he could explore his soulmate’s body but also because it showed how much Barry was willing to invest in this relationship. And that was something which Len had been concerned over for all of yesterday evening.

But now he knew that Barry cared about him, and Len cared so very much in return.

Once he was dressed, he turned to see Barry bubbling with energy in a way that made Len smile. Though that was nothing new. _Everything_ Barry did seemed to make Len smile, and he had no reason to stuff that down and hide it out of sight. Barry made him happy, and Len wanted to show that to the world.

He pressed a chaste kiss to Barry’s cheek, and the young speedster positively _preened_ at the attention. Len thought he would very much enjoy getting used to that smile and those big bright green eyes.

“Do you want to go for a run?” Barry offered, sounding shy but excited at the prospect of sharing this part of his life with Len.

Len didn’t quite think he’d get the same sort of enjoyment out of it as Barry got – moving at superspeed sounded like it was going to be the biggest head-rush of all time – but being carried by the Flash… by his superpowered soulmate…

That was an offer just too good to refuse.

So, Len nodded his head, and Barry smiled, wrapping his arm around Len’s body. But before Barry scooped him up off his feet, he pressed a sweet little kiss to Len’s cheek.

Len smiled and closed his eyes briefly.

And then when he opened his eyes again, he was standing outside in an alleyway.

The motion sickness that followed was _intense_ , but it passed quickly enough, and Barry was there to hold him through it; so, it wasn’t too bad after all.

“You okay?” Barry laughed, cupping his hand against Len’s jaw, and Len had no other option but to smile because looking into Barry’s beautiful green eyes always made Len feel as though he was on top of the world, even as he stood there with his head spinning. “Come on,” Barry said, taking Len’s hand and leading him out of the alleyway and towards the coffee shop. It was still early, long before the morning rush would kick in, so Len was able to relax with his soulmate as they moved right up to the counter to order. Len picked a hot chocolate – with extra mini marshmallows, of course – while Barry got a latte, a selection box of pastries, and one of every muffin that the store sold.

Len maintained his passive face while the barista stood in front of them and rung up their order, but the moment she had her back turned, he allowed his surprise to show. After all, that was a lot of sugar for _anyone_ to eat, never mind a man as skinny as Barry Allen.

“Hungry?” Len asked, and Barry gave a soft laugh and a nod.

“I, uh… I have to eat a lot of carbs because of the whole –” Barry gave a vague gesture so as to not say the word ‘ _speedster’_ , but Len understood him perfectly “– thing.”

Len gave a short ‘hmm’ in response. He’d never really thought about that before, though it certainly made sense, and if Barry wasn’t his soulmate, he probably would have tried to exploit that information in a fight. And thinking about that made Len realise that he had no idea how they were going to tackle this Flash/Captain Cold love connection.

Dating a CSI had been complicated enough, but this just made it a whole lot more so. It was going to be difficult, but as Len watched Barry accept the giant box of pastries and cake, grinning as he eyed the food hungrily, Len knew that it would be worth it. He picked up their drinks, and they took the stairs up towards a seating area above, out of the way of what would soon be a bustling café, giving themselves some privacy.

Barry had already devoured three of the pastries on the short walk up, so quickly that Len hadn’t even noticed until they sat down together and Len saw the powdered sugar on Barry’s lip. He said nothing about it though, he just took a cinnamon danish and sat back.

“So, aside from your sugar issues… is there anything else I should know?”

Barry thought about that as he nibbled slowly on a double chocolate chip muffin.

“I can’t get drunk,” he offered up. “Not really the same kind of side effect as the blood sugar thing, but annoying nonetheless.” Len looked at him in surprise, and Barry nodded. “Yeah, I just burn through alcohol too quickly for it to have any kind of effect on me.”

“Sucks to be you,” Len joked, and Barry nodded vigorously as though Len had _no idea_. He didn’t. Alcohol had served him well over the years whenever he needed to numb the pain for a night. He tried not to be so dependent on it now as he had been as a teenager, tried to just bury himself in his work instead, but he still enjoyed the silencing effect that it had on his inner monologue from time to time. And Barry… well, Barry had been through a hard life too. He had just as much pain bottled up inside as Len did.

But he also had a lot more brightness inside too, a light which kept him from succumbing to the darker path like Len had, a strength inside like nothing Len had seen before.

Barry was unique.

“You’re staring,” Barry pointed out, making the corner of Len’s lips twitch in amusement.

“Am I?”

“It’s creepy.”

Len grinned. “Creepy or… romantic?”

“Creepy,” Barry snorted, and it pulled a laugh from Len too. It was strange to think that he had an inside joke with the Flash – who was his _soulmate_! – after only a few days of really knowing each other. Sure, they’d met before, but meeting someone and knowing them was very different.

Len was glad he knew Barry.

“Well, can I help it if I have the most remarkable soulmate in the world?” he asked, enjoying Barry’s blush.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“You’re humble” Len easily countered. And he could have just left it at that, but he didn’t want to. “Barry, even before I knew you were…” Len paused, looking around the café as he remembered they were not actually alone here – it was so easy to forget and get wrapped up in Barry’s eyes – but the only other patron within listening range had her headphones in so he continued again, softly, “a runner… I was already in awe of you. Now, even more than ever.”

“No,” Barry shook his head, refusing to believe it. “No, take away… _that_ , and I’m nothing special.”

“You are to me.”

Barry blushed even brighter. “If you keep talking like this, you’re going to give me an ego.”

“We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?” Len drawled. He took a sip of his hot chocolate, nodding. “This is good.”

“Best in Central,” Barry agreed, looking a little grateful for the change of topic. It seemed as though he wasn’t too comfortable with compliments, but he’d better get used to them because Len wasn’t going to stop. “Muffin?” Barry offered, and Len shook his head but did pick up a lemon doughnut to eat after he’d finished his cinnamon pastry.

The coffee shop was getting a little busier now, and the noise from downstairs announced the beginning of the morning rush. A customer was walking up the stairs, balancing a coffee and muffin in her hands as she spoke on her mobile, choosing the table behind Len to sit at.

The thing was, though, that Len still had a lot to say which he couldn’t risk being overheard, so he got up from his seat and moved to sit directly beside Barry instead. He leant in a little closer, draping his arm over the back of Barry’s chair, and lowering his voice as they continued to talk.

“So, how are we going to deal with this the next time I commit a crime?” he asked casually, hoping not to bring down the easy-going mood between them but knowing that they needed an answer to this dilemma as soon as possible. As appealing as the thought might be, they couldn’t just bury their heads in the sand if they wanted this thing to work between them. And Len did want that. So much.

“I suppose I could just…” Barry shrugged, “not show up?” Len pulled a face at that; he didn’t like the idea of doing this without the Flash there to fail at stopping him. “Well, what do you suggest?”

“How about we just start with setting some ground rules?” he offered.

“Like?”

“What happens out there, stays out there. We don’t bring it home.” That was easier said than done, Len knew, but it was the only way they could get through this.

“So, when I wipe the floor with you on your next heist,” Barry teased, “you won’t punish me for it?”

“Depends on the punishment,” Len drawled, making Barry grin.

“Winner’s choice?”

Len nodded; he liked the sound of that.

“I won’t use anything against you that Captain Cold shouldn’t know,” he added. Like the blood sugar, a trip out of town, or a busy night. “And you won’t try to take back anything in my possession once the fight is over.” Len didn’t like calling it a fight, but he had no other words to fit this game they played.

“I won’t arrest you,” Barry added, and Len nodded again. He’d hoped that would be the case, but it was always nice to hear anyway. “And you don’t hurt anyone anymore, like we agreed.”

“Of course,” Len nodded; he wasn’t about to go back on his word. “Anything else to add?” he asked once he realised there was nothing else on his list. Barry took a sip of his coffee and shrugged.

“I guess that’s it. For now.”

“You reserve the right to add to it later,” Len nodded. “Got it.”

Barry smiled, happy with their new rules, and took a bite of a doughnut, the raspberry preserve inside spilling out, looking sweet and tempting. Len waited just long enough for Barry to swallow the bite he’d taken before leaning over and swiping the jam off Barry’s lips with his tongue. He pulled back only momentarily to adjust his position before kissing Barry again deeper and harder.

Len’s hand came to rest on Barry’s thigh, his thumb running circles against the denim as he nipped at Barry’s lips with his teeth before delving back into his mouth.

And if the café hadn’t been quickly getting busy, Len might have inched his fingers higher up Barry’s leg, brushing the inside of his thigh and scratching at the denim with his nails. He might have pushed a little more and seen how far Barry was willing to take this in public… Or maybe just pushed until Barry was a hot and vibrating mess under his touch; until he couldn’t wait just one more second before swooping Len up and racing the two of them out of here and onto a nice soft bed.

But there was a growing number of customers downstairs, and people were quickly filling the tables up here too. So, Len restrained himself and allowed the kiss to break.

“I need some fresh air,” Barry said, his voice breathless, and Len nodded. Within a blink of an eye, Barry had swiped the last pastry out of the box and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a little chipmunk. Len laughed freely at the sight. He stood and picked their mugs up, walking away from the table and down the stairs with Barry quick at his heels.

The mugs were only half empty, and Len lamented the thought of throwing his drink away – it really was good cocoa – but the queue for service was already reaching the door, and Len disliked the thought of taking up the busy baristas’ time in asking for a couple of to-go cups for their drinks. So, he just took one last mouthful and left the mugs on the counter.

Barry hooked his arm through Len’s as they left the coffee shop together, and the casual touch made him smile.

“Where to now?” Len asked once they’d stepped out in the cool morning air. He wanted to make a suggestive comment about going back to his place for a bit more one-on-one time… but he resisted that urge. For as much as he wanted to tear the clothes off Barry’s body, he also just wanted to spend time with him, to talk, and laugh, and just be _together_.

“I only have an hour until I have to be at work,” Barry said, and Len tried not to feel disappointed. Somehow, among the developments of this morning, he had forgotten that Barry actually worked for a living. He’d probably need to leave to get ready soon, so any thoughts of just spending the whole day wrapped up in each other were, unfortunately, going to be put on hold.

It would happen, though; Len had to remind himself of that… It would happen, just not today.

He prepared himself for Barry to start saying his goodbyes, trying to decide what he could say or do now to leave a lasting impression on his soulmate and keep Barry coming back for more. But then Barry dug his phone out of his pocket to check the time – 7:51 am – and grinned up at Len.

“So, I guess we still have sixty-eight minutes together,” Barry said, hugging Len tightly as they stepped away from the coffee shop and onto the bustling street. Len grinned. That was just one more perk of dating a speedster, he supposed. “And then, if you don’t have any plans for lunch…”

“You’ll race right on over?” Len guessed, and Barry smiled and nodded his head. “Good, because I don’t think your co-workers would appreciate it if I dropped by with some food.”

“Are you really saying you couldn’t find a way up to my lab undetected?” Barry laughed. Len made a non-committal ‘hmm’ sound in the back of his throat as he thought about that and how he’d pull it off… He’d need a copy of the station’s blueprints, but those shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Perhaps an easily corruptible desk clerk to bribe which, again, was easy to come by, even at the CCPD. Sure, the police here weren’t as crooked as in Gotham, but– “Stop planning it!” Barry interrupted. “It was a joke.”

“Joke or not…”

“No,” Barry shook his head, not letting Len finish. “Not a chance. I’m not going to break you out if you get caught and locked up.”

Len laughed.

He wouldn’t get caught.

“Fine, I won’t come to you for lunch today,” Len said, though he made no promises about lunch any other day… Barry definitely noticed that, but he just chose to roll his eyes and keep facing forward while they walked. “So, that just leaves us with the question of what we will do with this lovely morning…” he said, smirking at Barry as he did a U-turn on his decision not to make any more suggestive comments. After all, they only had an hour together now.

Barry shook his head, though he was still grinning. “If I come back to your place, I won’t be making it into work today.”

“Promise?”

“I thought I was worth the wait.”

Len nodded. “You are.” And with that, Barry blushed. Again. He was adorable,

“Good, because I don’t think I can deal with my Captain’s –” God, Len hated when Barry said that. Irrational as it may be, Len wanted to be the one Barry thought about when he said the phrase ‘ _my Captain_ ’ “– questions today. He’ll be able to see right through me.”

“Singh is still treating you well?” Len asked, wanting to make sure he didn’t need to add the man onto his shit list. Barry had said no more hurting people, and Len was going to stick to that rule like his life depended on it, so any senseless threatening was better done sooner rather than later once word had already got out about his new code.

“He’s a little awkward around me,” Barry laughed. “But yeah, he’s fine.” Len nodded, glad that he wouldn’t need to go breaking and entering into a police Captain’s house anytime soon. “Joe, on the other hand…”

Len frowned, his steps slowing as he watched the wince across Barry’s face.

“He suspects something?” Len asked when it became clear Barry wasn’t going to elaborate further.

“I thought he did,” Barry muttered. “After all the flirting you did in that interrogation room.” Ah, so it was West on the other side of that mirror? That made sense. Of course, he would want to watch over his son going toe-to-toe with the big bad Captain Cold. “And when he found out I was taken off your case… I was so sure he knew.

“But, as it turns out, he just thought Singh kicked me off to protect me from you.” Barry laughed, but it was tense. And when he met Len’s eyes, it was only for a second before he quickly turned back to watch where they were going. Len waited for the rest of the story. “But I let the truth slip out, and…” Barry shook his head.

“He didn’t take it well.” It wasn’t a question. Len could guess how poorly a police detective – one who had been on Len’s tail for the past ten years, no less – would take the news that his son’s soulmate was a wanted criminal.

It wasn’t a question, but Barry answered anyway. “Not in the slightest.” The look on his face now was uncomfortably familiar, and it made Len suspicious.

“When was this?”

“Last night, just before I finished work.”

Len nodded; it was just like he’d suspected. Joe West was the reason Barry had stopped texting him yesterday evening, and why Barry had looked so down-trodden and angry when he’d ran into Len later that evening.

It was no wonder he’d lashed out.

It still wasn’t _right_ that Barry had taken his anger out on Len, but it made more sense now, at least. And anyway, he’d apologised for that already, and Len had forgiven him. Water under the bridge, and all that.

“I don’t need his approval to date you, though,” Barry said, “and I’m not going to let it get in the way of us again.” He sounded sincere, and Len believed that he meant it. However, they both knew that it was going to be difficult for everyone involved. Barry didn’t seem to want to focus on that for very long, though, because he quickly moved on, hoping to change the subject to something a little lighter. “How about your family? How would they react to me?”

“Lisa’s the only family I’ve got,” Len said, skipping over Lewis completely in his head. His father wasn’t part of Len’s life. Not now; not ever again. He would tell Barry the truth about that someday, but not today. “I think she’d like you; she’d be hard-pressed not to. I’m the only trouble-maker in this relationship.”

“Trouble-maker or not, I like you,” Barry said, leaning over to press a kiss on Len’s cheek. “And Iris does too. She was the first one I told, and she’s been very supportive.”

“Well, that’s one down at least,” Len drawled. “Now I just need to find out how to charm your other friends.” And Len knew he shouldn’t press the issue, but since they were already on sensitive topics… “Do you think a fruit basket and a ‘sorry we tied you to a bomb’ card will be enough for Dr Snow?”

Barry gave an exasperated huff of a laugh, which was a lot calmer than Len had expected. He hadn’t wanted to broach the topic now that they were spending the morning together, aimlessly walking around the streets of Central City, calm and happy. But Len had needed to know how much – if any – Barry resented him for it.

Thankfully, the answer seemed to be better than Len could have hoped.

Barry really was a Saint.

“She might need more than that.”

“Got it,” Len nodded. “A muffin basket instead of fruit.”

Barry only laughed, and it made Len feel a little lighter.

But that didn’t last for long.

A cop car was driving down the road now, and Len glanced at it as it rolled slowly in the bumper-to-bumper morning traffic. It had a different precinct number on the side than the one Barry was a part of; however, Len didn’t want to take the chance that they might know the young CSI and focus enough attention on him to recognise Len, so he pulled on Barry’s arm and led him down a side street instead.

The sudden change in direction caused Barry to glance back over his shoulder at the road they were exiting, finally noticing the cruiser and frowning. He didn’t say anything about it, but Len noticed a bit of unspoken tension in his shoulders at the realisation that he would always be dodging the police when he was with Len.

That was the downside, Len supposed, of what he and Mick had done last week by announcing themselves and the Flash to the world. He wasn’t too recognisable to the general public while out of his parka and goggles, but the cops were all sure to have his face memorised, especially now, so soon after their public showdown. It was a side-effect that Len had been well aware of. However, he hadn’t planned on dragging anyone else into this with him…

“You okay?” Len asked. He needed to know that Barry was still all right with this and, if not, if there was anything Len could do to ease his concerns. He didn’t know what he could do to fix this, but he was sure there must be something out there that he hadn’t thought of yet. Something he could do to make this whole thing easier on Barry and reduce the strain on their relationship before it became a bigger issue.

Barry shook his head, then nodded, then did a half shake, half nod thing which… It wasn’t really a very coherent answer. Eventually, Barry sighed.

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Just thinking about what Joe said.”

Probably realising how right West had been yesterday in whatever it was he’d told Barry… Len tried not to begrudge Barry that. This relationship was going to be a difficult road for both of them, but Barry certainly would be more affected than himself.

But Barry soon surprised Len by laughing and saying: “I kind of want to go yell at him.”

It was only then that Len recognised the emotion clouding Barry’s eyes for what it was: annoyance. But it wasn’t aimed at Len, rather the man who had raised him since he was a kid only to shun him now that they’d discovered who Barry’s soulmate was.

Len could understand Barry’s frustration. Joe West wasn’t exactly Len’s favourite person either, though that resentment had come long before he’d ever known the guy had tried to swear Barry away from him last night. Still… he _was_ Barry’s foster father, and the two of them seemed to have a pretty good relationship up until now. Len didn’t want to be the reason why they stopped talking to one another. He didn’t want to take anyone away from Barry’s life, not when he’d already lost his mother and had his father had been snatched away from him on false charges.

“I’m sure he only had your best interests at heart,” Len said, hating that he was sticking up for a detective right now… But he supposed he’d do just about anything for his soulmate.

Barry seemed to get the irony on that one, of Len sticking up for a man who would have done – and, in fact, did do – the exact opposite for him. But Len wasn’t doing this for West’s sake. Though, he soon realised that _that_ was exactly Barry’s point in the first place.

“If he had my best interests at heart, he would have listened to me about you,” Barry said. “He wouldn’t have lost it and pushed me away.” There was a lot of pain in his voice, and it made Len’s heart twinge. Barry stopped walking suddenly and slipped his arm out of Len’s, holding onto his hand instead as they turned to face each other on the – mostly empty – road. “I need to talk to Joe before I see him at work.”

Len nodded, understanding Barry’s motives, though he didn’t like the idea of him doing this alone.

However, Barry wasn’t letting go of Len’s hand, so he figured they were on the same page about that one.

“Want some company?” he offered, and Barry’s shoulders deflated in relief while he nodded.

And that was how Len found himself standing on the porch outside Detective Joseph West’s house, arm wrapped protectively around Barry as his soulmate barged through the front door and dragged Len along with him.

“Barry?” the detective asked, surprised to see him. Then his eyes fell on Len and darkened.

But Barry wasn’t having any of that today.

“You owe me an apology,” he demanded, and West actually looked worried. “I know that I just kind of threw this whole ‘ _my soulmate is Leonard Snart_ ’ thing on you yesterday, but you shouldn’t have reacted like that. You should have had my back.”

“I think we should talk about this some other time,” West said, pointedly, but Barry shook his head.

“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Len.”

West shook his head. “That’s not what I –”

“I trust him,” Barry interrupted, and seeing the Flash so vehemently defending Len to his family was something he would have never expected to witness in a million years. “About everything. I even told him I’m the Flash.”

“ _What_?!” another voice shouted, and a new face appeared at the top of the stairs. And now both Barry and West were going pale. Len just stayed back and watched, feeling out of place while the newcomer – a young woman with dark hair and skin who Len recognised from Barry’s Facebook photos as Iris – stared down at Barry with wide eyes, looking as though someone had just revealed to her the mysteries of the universe.

Clearly, she had not been in on the Flash secret…

Len felt suddenly as though he was intruding in Barry’s life, like he shouldn’t be here. But then Barry reached his hand out for Len’s as though seeking his comfort to give himself strength. And once their fingers made contact, Len no longer felt like an outsider.

He rubbed his thumb soothingly against Barry’s skin while everyone else in the room remained frozen and uncertain. Len leant closer to Barry and whispered: “Is that what I looked like when you told me?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Barry laughed despite himself. And that one sound seemed to break the ice which had frozen the others in the room stock-still.

Iris charged down the stairs, furious. “Bartholomew Henry Allen, you have not been keeping from me that you are the _Flash_!”

Barry gaped at her, lost for words, until she shook her head and stormed out of the house. He attempted to stop her by calling her name, but Iris was already out the door and slamming it closed behind her.

Barry looked torn between following after her and staying to defend Len from West’s glare. It was sweet of him but unnecessary. Len nodded at Barry, silently encouraging him to go after his friend. And Barry zipped out of there like there was no tomorrow, the lightning from his speed filling up the room with static which kissed Len’s skin. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. It was just… It was so clearly _Barry_ that Len wondered how he hadn’t put his secret identity together already.

Len turned back to West and watched as the worry on the man’s face quickly dissolved into hostility.

West stepped forward. “Listen here, if you even think about harming Barry again –”

“– I could say the same to you,” Len interrupted before the detective had time to finish his shovel talk. It must have confused him, though, because he actually stopped threatening Len and stared blankly at him instead. “In this room, I may be the criminal, but I’m not the last one of us to hurt Barry.” Which was true. West may have never laid so much as a hand on his kids – which already put him miles above Len’s old man – but his words had still cut Barry deep.

Deep enough to keep Barry from putting the whole argument to rest.

Deep enough that he’d felt the need to come here and confront him about it.

Len had hurt Barry before, and now he was going to do everything in his power to make that up to him, and that included making sure that no one else could hurt him again. It was probably a vain task, considering this soulmate’s penchant for battling supervillains, but Len was going to do his best. And the easiest place to start would be here, with the people Barry loved.

“You don’t like me,” Len said, shrugging. “And I don’t blame you for that. But I get the feeling that Barry is the kind of man who isn’t easily dissuaded by other peoples’ opinions.” From the look on West’s face, Len had hit the nail on the head with that one. “So, if he wants to get to know me, your protests are only going to cause him more pain.”

“And you’re so concerned about that?” West snarked. Len bit back the anger forming in his own reply, trying his best to make good with Barry’s family. So, instead, he nodded.

“I am.”

West looked taken aback by the honesty in Len’s voice, studying him silently. Len had nothing else to say on the matter, though, so he just turned and left.

The street appeared empty outside. He knew that Iris and Barry had to be around here somewhere – unless Barry had zipped them both away to talk in private, they couldn’t have got very far – but Len didn’t want to interrupt anyway, so he didn’t search them out as he made his way down the road. He slipped his phone out of his pocket to text Barry and let him know he was on his way back to the safehouse he was currently calling home. He didn’t expect a reply anytime soon, though, so he wasn’t bothered when one didn’t come.

The walk back would take him about an hour, probably, but Len didn’t mind the exercise, nor was he particularly bothered by the cool morning breeze. He was, however, a little sad that he’d missed out on the remainder of his morning with his soulmate. He understood why Barry had needed to leave, though, and – unless he came to his senses and decided Len wasn’t worth the trouble – they were sure to have plenty of time together in the future to make up for a missed half an hour this morning.

Some twenty minutes later, ahead at the end of the road, Len saw a flash of light. It was there and gone again too quickly for him to tell which direction it had come from and which direction it was heading in, but he was sure it was Barry. Probably on his way to work. The light had caught the attention of a few other people on the street. One of which was a young girl excitedly pulling on her mother’s coat and pointing, talking about how she’d just seen the Flash.

The mother was humouring her, of course; the Flash was no longer some urban legend – not since Len publicly outed him on TV last week – but he was still new enough that ‘sensible’ adults would make up more logical explanations for what they saw. It was always the light from a speed camera, or someone taking a photo on their phone, or the sun glinting off something metallic. The child would see the wonder of a superhero, but the adult would see the mediocrity of normal life.

The child was right, though; that had been the Flash. Len was sure of it, deep in his soul.

And then he turned a street corner and came face-to-face with the man himself.

“Hey,” Barry said, smiling. Len hadn’t expected to see him, and that must have shown on his face because Barry was soon laughing, leaning forward to press a kiss to Len’s cheek as he took his hand. “Ah, your fingers are cold,” he complained, but he only clung on tighter rather than pulling away.

“Perhaps you can warm me up,” Len drawled, and Barry laughed.

“Tonight,” he promised, and Len tried to figure out if that colour in his cheeks was from the cool air or a flush of excitement. He hoped it was the latter. “I’m already late for work this morning.”

Despite his statement, Barry made no move to drop Len’s hand and instead they kept on walking down the road, heading towards the safehouse – the complete opposite direction to the precinct.

“Don’t you need to get going then?” Len asked, not really wanting Barry to leave but also not wanting to be the reason why he got into trouble – _more_ trouble – at work.

Barry shook his head while he spoke. “I have more important things to do right now.” Len frowned, wondering what Barry was getting at as the young speedster shot him one of those pretty little smiles as they walked. “I just wanted to say thank you for whatever you said to Joe this morning,” Barry shrugged. “It worked. He apologised to me right away.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Len said, giving Barry’s hand a pleased squeeze. Joe West was far from Len’s favourite person in the world, but he mattered to Barry, so Len didn’t want them to fight. “And Iris?”

“She’s a little mad that I didn’t tell her the truth,” Barry admitted, grimacing. “But we’ll be okay. I’ll have to bake her a lot of brownies to make up for this, though.”

“I can help with that,” Len offered, and Barry grinned, appearing surprised but happy.

“Wait, seriously? You bake?” he asked, and Len shrugged. “Okay, I will be extorting the hell out of that information for the foreseeable future.”

“Sounds fun.”

“God, I don’t know how you can be so calm about this,” Barry said, shaking his head. “About any of it. It’s not just about… who I am. But my friends, my family, my job… I don’t see how you’re not just tucking tail and running away.”

“I never run away from a challenge,” Len said, and Barry laughed. And Len might have just left it there if this was about anyone else. But it wasn’t just anyone, it was _Barry_ feeling so self-conscious about his side in their relationship. And Len couldn’t have that. He pulled his soulmate to a stop on the street and tugged him off to the side of the pavement and out of the way of the other busy commuters.

Then Len lifted his hand to Barry’s cheek, watching the younger man smile brightly, his green eyes glistening.

Len wanted to kiss him; Barry was probably _expecting_ Len to kiss him. But he held himself back in favour of a smile and some heartfelt words.

“Barry, no matter what is up against us; family, friends, the CCPD…” He shook his head. “I don’t care. I want to be here with you through all of it.”

Barry positively beamed back at him. “I want that too.”

**[ _One Year Later_ ]**

Len stepped into the precinct, smiling at every single detective who dared to make eye contact with him. They couldn’t stop him from being here, though; not since his Rogues had broken in here to delete all of their records and burnt all the evidence. Barry hadn’t known anything about that, of course, and he hadn’t necessarily appreciated it since it brought the IA back down on him. But Len had made sure that both himself and his soulmate had an airtight alibi for the event, so the investigation cleared quickly.

And, well… once Len had revealed the _reason_ for his little stunt… Barry had been too happy to care.

The precinct went quiet, like it always did whenever Leonard Snart stepped foot in the building; even the criminals being arrested appeared to pick up on the tension and fell silent. Len didn’t mind it though. In fact, it was rather fun.

Joe West made eye contact with him from across the other side of the bullpen, and the detective shook his head. He actually looked a little humoured by the whole situation too, which was good. Back when they’d first started dating, Barry had said he didn’t need Joe’s approval to be with Len, and he’d stuck true to his word about that over the months. But, now that they had it, it sure did make things easier. Even with Iris, Henry, and – eventually – the rest of Team Flash warming up to Len’s presence in their lives, Joe West still had the ability to twist and flip Len’s relationship with Barry around if he wanted to.

But he didn’t.

Joe still wasn’t Len’s biggest fan, but they got along well enough, even if it mostly was just for Barry’s benefit.

It was surprisingly nice.

Len had never had a real father-figure in his life, but Barry had _two_ , and Len could have easily been jealous about that – and if it was anyone other than his soulmate, then maybe he would have been – but, instead, he was just happy for Barry. Happy that he’d never been lacking in paternal love and support.

And, although, Joe’d had a bit of a rocky start with the whole idea of Barry’s soulmate being a criminal, Henry Allen had been supportive from the get-go. So, even when Joe had been acting frosty, Barry had always had a parent to go to when he’d needed advice, and Len was happy for that. He was glad that Barry had gotten everything that Len never had.

It had certainly been very touch-and-go with Joe for a while there, though. Especially after Barry had put his foot down and refused to keep using the STAR Labs pipeline as a private prison, even though they didn’t have any workable legal way to keep metas locked up back then. Of course, Len had his own solution for that problem… a way to reform these metas – in the only way that truly mattered, at least – like Team Flash wanted, without infringing on their human rights: to have them join his Rogues and follow his new criminal code.

Unsurprisingly, Joe West wasn’t the only one unhappy with this plan of action, but Barry’s opinion was the only one that had truly mattered, and he’d trusted Len to keep his word. And Len had done just that, and soon the metas of Central City learnt that ‘collateral damage’ wasn’t an option anymore.

The rest of Team Flash had come around to Len’s way of thinking eventually, and now they were all as thick and thieves.

Len grinned to himself, turning his attention to the staircase in the precinct when Barry appeared at the top, stilling suddenly as he noticed the tension in the bullpen. But then he saw Len, and he just rolled his eyes.

He took the steps down quickly, probably entirely aware of all the eyes on them. It didn’t bother Len in the slightest, but Barry always did get a little flustered at this part.

That was half of the fun, though, making his fiancé blush and grin like that…

Len reached out for Barry’s hand, holding it in his own, rubbing his thumb over the tri-coloured gold band that rested on Barry’s ring finger. Len had a matching one on his own left hand, proudly declaring to everyone who saw it that he was committed to one man, and one man only.

Barry led Len to the elevator as they left, his workday over with. It wasn’t until the doors closed behind them that his shoulders drooped in relief and he allowed Len to kiss him.

“You have to stop doing that,” Barry laughed, though he knew Len wasn’t going to. This was why Len had employed Shawna Baez to steal his files, and Sam Scudder to destroy the evidence, and why he had Hartley Rathaway send a virus to wipe Leonard Snart from the internet and replace it with a new trail of breadcrumbs. A new identity. A fresh start.

Len didn’t want to hide anymore. He wanted to be there, right by Barry’s side. He wanted to marry his soulmate.

And now he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have absolutely no idea how long I could have gone on with this fic for! I'd say it's at least half the length that it probably would have ended up being if I hadn't been on a tight deadline for these fics. I hope you guys enjoyed it, though! Leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts?
> 
> Also, remember all that beautiful art from [Rayllin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rayllin/works) (tumblr: [Hawkstincan](https://hawkstincan.tumblr.com/))? Yeah, you should definitely go shoot them a message and let them know how amazing they are!


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